Join the Appeal on Southern Sudan

On Dec. 8, 2010, International Relief and Development (IRD), joined by Artists for Human Rights, Council for a Community of Democracies and The Enough Project, held an event to issue a joint appeal on Sudan. Read the text below and add your voice today!

For decades it has been a festering crisis without end and a humanitarian catastrophe that has ravaged an entire people. The seeming intractability of the twin crises of Southern Sudan and Darfur evoke the most inhumane concepts: genocide, religious hatred, slavery and racism. Images of the Southern Sudan tragedy haunt the media with pictures of starvation and brutality brought about by the repression.

The conflict in Southern Sudan has for years defied international efforts to find a solution. Finally, a January referendum provides the people of the region with hope and the possibility of self-determination but also poses issues of continued concern.

Few humanitarian issues of our time cry out for greater international support and engagement.

We the undersigned urge that the upcoming referendum be allowed to reflect the will of the people of Southern Sudan free from all interference. We also encourage the two Sudanese parties to come to an agreement that will create the foundation for peaceful North-South co-existence, regardless of the outcome of the referendum.

Further, we urge that international organizations and donor governments assist the people of the region to build viable institutions that will allow the region at long last to prosper in peace.