Stop Genocide Save Darfur
www.SikhsAgainstGenocide.com

I am writing on behalf of the Sikh Community to urge the government of Canada to use its international influence to save the people of the Darfur region of Sudan, where genocide has been underway since 2003. It is estimated that 350,000-400,000 people have died, 10,000 more continue to die every month, and 2.5 million have been displaced. The Janjaweed militias burn and bomb villages, systematically rape women and young girls, abduct children, and destroy food and water supplies. Much of the humanitarian aid is being prevented from reaching those in dire need. Since the Khartoum regime is complicit with the militias, it cannot be relied on to protect the people of Darfur.

Therefore, Canada must use its international influence towards:

1.Invoking a U.N. Security Resolution, Chapter 7, for a multinational force to disarm the Janjaweed and protect innocent civilians at once.

2.Failing this, develop a bridging force option (for example, from a NATO rapid deployment force, the European Union or a coalition of willing nations) to augment the AU forces with a widened mandate to disarm militias..

3.Ensuring that 15,000 to 20,000 forces are on the ground, sufficient in number to carry out this mission

4.Providing strong, immediate tactical and technical international support-from the UN, EU and NATO.

5.Enforcing the Security Council ban on offensive military flights (which Khartoum has employed against civilian targets in Darfur).
These actions are consistent with the Responsibility to Protect doctrine, a Canadian initiative for the UN, that mandates the international community to protect innocent civilians from extreme harm when a sovereign nation is unable or unwilling to do so. The genocide in Darfur easily reaches this threshold. Most importantly, please make sure that Canada leads, cajoles, and persuades the international community to act without any further delay.