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For Immediate Release

A Stronger US Response Is Needed in Darfur

PHR Urges Bush to Publicly Condemn Recent Attacks in Darfur

Cambridge, Mass - 02/25/2008

PHR urged President Bush today to publicly condemn both the Government of Sudan's (GoS) intensifying attacks on civilians in Darfur and its continued obstruction of the UNAMID peacekeeping force's deployment. President Bush is currently finishing a diplomatic tour of Africa, which include a recent visit to the Rwandan Genocide Memorial in Kigali. Though reports show that the overall situation in Darfur is worsening, President Bush recently called the American response to the regional crisis sufficient. PHR believes that increased public pressure by the US is essential to stopping GoS attacks and protecting civilians.

"The Government of Sudan has been flouting the will of the UN Security Council for two years - not only fighting every step of the deployment of a force meant to protect the civilians of Darfur, but continuing aerial attacks on civilians even as the force struggles to gain its footing. said Frank Donaghue, Chief Executive Officer of PHR. "Yet, President Bush has not publicly criticized President Bashir in an effort to stop this obstruction. His recent visit to the memorial for victims of the Rwandan Genocide should be a tragic incentive for the US to do more now in Darfur. In the waning months of his last term, the President must not remain complacent with current US efforts, nor remain silent in the face of ongoing Sudanese attacks in Darfur."

PHR did commend President Bush's announcement yesterday to provide additional funding to African nations contributing to UNAMID, the peacekeeping force for Darfur. But even as President Bush stood at the memorial to victims of the Rwandan genocide, calling on the nations of the world to do more to stop bloodshed in Darfur and Kenya, Darfurians were fleeing from renewed aerial attacks, reportedly committed by the Sudanese Air Force.

Fifteen civilians were killed in the attacks on Jebel Moun, an area where tens of thousands fled following attacks on their nearby villages that itself killed more than 100. At least 12,000 refugees have fled to Chad this month to escape the escalating combat, and 10,000 more are being prevented from crossing the border, allegedly by Sudanese soldiers and Janjaweed militiamen. There has been no condemnation of this attack by international leaders, including President Bush.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is an independent organization that uses medicine and science to stop mass atrocities and severe human rights violations against individuals. We are supported by the expertise and passion of health professionals and concerned citizens alike.

Since 1986, PHR has conducted investigations in more than 40 countries around the world, including Afghanistan, Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, the United States, the former Yugoslavia, and Zimbabwe.

  • 1988 — First to document Iraq’s use of chemical weapons against Kurds
  • 1996 — Exhumed mass graves in the Balkans
  • 1996 — Produced critical forensic evidence of genocide in Rwanda
  • 1997 — Shared the Nobel Peace Prize for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines
  • 2003 — Warned of health and human rights catastrophe prior to the invasion of Iraq
  • 2004 — Documented and analyzed the genocide in Darfur
  • 2005 — Detailed the story of tortured detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo Bay
  • 2010 — Investigated the epidemic of violence spread by Burma’s military junta
  • 2011 — Championed the principle of noninterference with medical services
                  in times of armed conflict and civil unrest during the Arab Spring
  • 2012 — Trained doctors, lawyers, police, and judges in the Democratic Republic of
                  the Congo, Kenya, and Syria on the proper collection of evidence in
                  sexual violence cases
  • 2013 — Won first prize in the Tech Challenge for Atrocity Prevention with MediCapt,
                  our mobile app that documents evidence of torture and sexual violence

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