Take Action!

By Zarr�n Caldwell and Emily Nichelson-Boots

Fri., Apr. 21, 2006

Genocide is still happening in places like Darfur, western Sudan. Doing your part to stop the genocides of today can aid the worldwide effort to stop the genocides of tomorrow.

Some noteworthy coalition efforts:

The Million Voices for Darfur

�Instead of mourning a genocide, what if we could stop one?� A coalition of organizations has come together to mobilize one million Americans to call for a stronger, larger international force to protect the civilians of Darfur. By collecting signed postcards at events and attending a rally in Washington, DC on April 30th, you can help show the President that the American people care about stopping genocide in Darfur. Find out more about the campaign at Million Voices, or review other ways to take action.

The Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC)
The CICC is a global network of over 2,000 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) advocating for a fair, effective, and independent International Criminal Court. Although some actions for the ICC take place at national and regional levels, their Get Involved page offers about a dozen suggestions of how individuals can support the ICC.

Genocide Watch
Take a pledge against genocide at the site of the International Campaign to End Genocide, a worldwide coalition of concerned groups and individuals who are dedicated to ending genocide in the 21st century.

The Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC)
GPPAC is an international network of civil society organizations working for conflict prevention and peace building worldwide. You can join as an individual and receive relevant news from your region, as well as global updates.

Some action ideas from OneWorld partners:

Advocacy Project

The Bosfam weaving center supports widows of genocide. © Advocacy Project

The Advocacy Project supports advocates for peace by helping community-based groups use information more effectively. One of these groups is Bosfam, a project to help survivors of the Srebrenica massacre in Eastern Bosnia. Sign up to the Advocacy Project's email newsletter, which highlights the many projects they support.

Africa Action
Africa Action mobilizes popular support for campaigns to promote political, economic, and social justice in Africa. Their Campaign to Stop Genocide in Darfur offers a checklist of 10 things you can do to make your voice heard on this important issue. Africa Action has also created a terrific Film Guide to help you organize film screenings in your communities to commemorate the Rwandan genocide and generate discussion on the genocide in Darfur.

Amnesty International

Darfuri women tell their stories to Amnesty's Irene Khan. © Amnesty International

By joining thousands of others around the world involved with Amnesty International, you can challenge impunity for violence. Check out all the things you can do at Amnesty USA�s action center, or join their Urgent Action network, where rapid, global responses can prevent life-threatening human rights violations.

The Asia America Initiative
The Asia America Initiative (AAI) is dedicated to playing a mediating role in conflict-plagued areas throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Through AAI�s people-to-people Adopt a Classroom project, you can provide hope and basic classroom materials to public schools in one of the most impoverished areas of the Philippines, which is threatened by violence from terrorist groups.

Citizens for Global Solutions

Citizens for Global Solutions has an advocacy center on their Web site where you can take part in urgent on-line actions on international issues that affect us all. Among other initiatives, you can donate $10 to Sudan activism and receive a �Not on My Watch - Save Darfur� wristband and a special promotional membership to Citizens for Global Solutions (a $25 value).

Human Rights Education Associates
Want to really make a difference in advancing human rights? How about taking a distance learning course to become a human rights monitor? The course is offered by Human Rights Education Associates, which works on the research, training and development of human rights education.

Refugees International

"On Our Watch" documentary.

Refugees International works to save lives and end the conditions that create the displacement of large masses of people. Check out their site to get involved in stopping the genocide in Darfur. Watch a moving 10-minute documentary about the crisis there, or send a letter to your senators asking them to increase funding for African Union peacekeepers. Ways You Can Help offers specific suggestions of more ways that you can help the many people displaced by conflict worldwide.

Other groups working in the field:

The Committee on Conscience at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The Committee on Conscience at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has been in the lead in responding to the crisis in Darfur since January 2004. See how you can get involved.

Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world, including protecting people from inhumane conduct in wartime and bringing offenders to justice. �What You Can Do About Darfur� is included in a long list of global campaigns that you can support.

Global Rights
Global Rights is a human rights advocacy group that partners with local activists to challenge injustice. Their work on international criminal law involves documenting atrocities, shaping the policies that governments adopt, and promoting prosecutions of persons responsible for crimes. Support their work with local organizations in 20 countries.

Search for Common Ground
Search for Common Ground works with local partners in 17 countries to find culturally appropriate means of strengthening those societies' capacity to deal with conflicts constructively. Find out how you can support their work to move from adversarial to collaborative approaches in dealing with conflict.

Human Rights First
Human Rights First asks you to stand up for the victims of slaughter in Darfur. They are asking for at least 200,000 people to sign their petition calling for a UN appointed diplomat of the highest international stature to lead a peace process in Darfur.

** Get talking! No better way to generate momentum on an issue than to talk about it with your friends and peers. Add your thoughts to Perspectives' COMMUNITY SPACE!

PERSPECTIVES HOMEPAGE: PREVENTING GENOCIDE