E-Action

In less than three weeks, the Obama administration will be in office. Between now and then, it's crucial that Darfur activists around the country let them know loudly and clearly that there are tens of thousands of Americans who care deeply about Darfur and Sudan.

Several activist groups including the San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition, the Massachusetts Darfur Coalition, New York City Coalition for Darfur,Stop Genocide Now, and Americans Against Genocide have worked together to develop a simple e-action that utilizes the invitation at the Obama website, change.gov, for American citizens to "Join the Discussion" and express ideas.

For those of you on Facebook, please post the e-action as a Note on your profile and share it with friends.

We've got a few weeks before Inauguration Day. Let's make our voices heard!

Text of e-action:

Please visit http://change.gov/page/s/ofthepeople today and

1. Provide your information.
2. Check off the "Foreign Policy" box.
3. Copy and paste the following text into the "Your Ideas" space:

"An immediate challenge to the United States is how to lead the international community in bringing peace and protection to the people of Darfur. I urge President-Elect Obama to:

1)Create a peace surge for Sudan, focused on ending the crisis in Darfur rather than managing it.

2)Prepare a comprehensive emergency response plan to prevent Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir from carrying out his threats to accelerate attacks on Darfur and the millions residing in refugee camps and to block the humanitarian aid on which they rely for survival.

3)Identify genocide prevention as a policy priority and implement the recommendations of the Genocide Prevention Task Force.

Elements of the peace surge include fully implementing and supporting the U.N.-authorized peacekeeping force that actively protects civilians, holding the perpetrators of the genocide accountable, ensuring the success of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed by the governments of Sudan and South Sudan, and making Darfur a priority from Day One. The emergency response plan is particularly important given the recent threats by the Government of Sudan to attack Darfuris and humanitarians if the ICC issues the arrest warrant for al-Bashir as expected in early 2009. The non-partisan, blue ribbon Genocide Prevention Task Force published a blueprint for U.S. policymakers to integrate the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities into the broader structures of U.S. foreign policy, including the creation of an interagency Atrocities Prevention Committee (APC) to monitor areas of concern and develop and coordinate responses and interventions.