Approximately one year ago, many of us in the United States began to learn of the atrocities being committed in the Darfur region of Sudan. In June of 2004, the U.S. Congress labeled these acts genocide, international observers began investigating, and aid agencies began received more funds for their relief efforts. Many thought that would be the end of the crisis.

Sadly this was not the case. In January of this year the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur completed their mandate. In their report to the Secretary General, they found that “…the impact of the attacks on civilians shows that the use of military force was manifestly disproportionate to any threat posed by the rebels,” and were “particularly alarmed that attacks on villages, killing of civilians, rape, pillaging and  forced displacement have continued during the course of the Commission’s mandate.” While they have yet to find sufficient evidence to use the legal term “genocide” in describing the violence, they concluded that “international offences such as  the crimes against humanity and war crimes that have been committed in Darfur may be no less serious  and heinous than genocide.”

How many times have we heard  “never again” – in reference to the Holocaust, the Khmer Rouge, Rwanda? Well over 300,000 people are believed to have died as a result of the warfare. Millions have been displaced from their homes, and now face disease, lack of basic necessities, and often the pain and stigma of sexual abuse. And yet even in this late day we are not powerless to act, to help a desperate people avoid further atrocities and the suffering of refugee life.

from the URI Darfur Action Group