November 12, 2016

H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma
Chairperson, African Union Commission
P.O. Box 3243, Roosevelt Street
W21K19 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

 

Ambassador (Eng.) Mahboub Maalim
The Executive Secretary
IGAD Secretariat Avenue Georges Clemenceau
P.O. Box 2653
Djibouti, Republic of Djibouti

 

RE: Genocide in South Sudan 

 

H.E. Dr. Zuma and Ambassador Maalim,

 

We, the undersigned 101 South Sudanese, human rights organizations, scholars and friends of South Sudan, write to express our grave concern regarding the deteriorating crisis in South Sudan. The actions of the actors in the South Sudanese conflict have produced an outcome that has raised the possibility of genocide as shown by the recent increase in ethnically-targeted attacks in the country.  Polarized communities are also increasingly using various social media platforms to spew hate speech. This rhetoric is inciting violence and animosity in a period when bridge-building is desperately needed.  All indications point to the fact that the threat of genocide will only increase in the days ahead.

 

IGAD and the African Union are in charge of addressing the crisis in South Sudan, therefore, we write to warn you that the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate and to urge you to take immediate action to avert a looming catastrophe in South Sudan.  Peace in South Sudan and stability in the region are entirely dependent on the respect for the rule of law and the coexistence of communities in mutually complementary terms.  The competency and legacy of your organizations and more importantly, the life or death of innocent South Sudanese will be determined by the actions you choose to take.  Do not let another genocide happen on your watch. Please act now.

 

Sincerely,

 

Coalition of Advocates for South Sudan, Kwaje Lasu, MPH, RCP, Chairman of the Board, Ypsilanti, MI, USA

Al Khatim Adlan Center for Enlightenment & Human Development (KACE), Albaqir A Mukhtar (PhD), Director, Khartoum, Sudan

Azande Global Community Association (AGCA) USA, Edward Mitri Rudwan, Chairman

Balanda Community Association (BCA), Mr. David Pons Bandasi, Chairman, USA

Blue Nile Association for Peace and Development, Omer Abdelsawi Omer, Mulberry, FL, USA

Darfur People’s Association of New York, Mohamed Ebead, President, Brooklyn, NY, USA

Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre, Abdelbagi Jibril, Vice President, Cairo, Egypt

Empowerment Through Education (ETE) Foundation, Micklina Kenyi, Executive Director, Boulder, CO, USA

Face Past for Future Foundation (FP4F), Abdelrahman Gasim, Chairman, Kampala, Uganda

Friends of Sudan / South Sudan, Justin Laku, SR, Founding & Executive Director, University of Ottawa, Canada

Global Partnership for Peace in South Sudan, Theresa Samuel-Boko, Secretary, Santa Clara, CA, USA

Harambi Foundation, Adil Abdel Aati, CEO, Warsaw, Mazowsze, Poland

Jonglei Peace Initiative (North America), Dr. Isaac K. Gang, Co-Founder and Executive Secretary, Belton, TX, USA

Learning Victory, Inc., Ariik Nyok MPA, Founder and Executive Director, Queens County, Long Island City, NY, USA

New Sudan Generation, Silvestro Akara Bakhiet, Founder / President, San Francisco, CA, USA

Nubia Project, Nuraddin Abdulmannan, President, Washington, DC, USA

NyaEden Foundation, Nyamal Tutdeal, Executive Director, Kuoth Wiel, Director, Los Angeles, CA and Philadelphia, PA, USA

People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), Hakim Dario, PhD, London, UK

Sisters Hope for South Sudan, Hanna Andrew K. Dijok, Executive Director, Washington, DC, USA

South Sudan International Advocacy for Human Rights (SSIAHR), Peter Gatkuoth Wadar Kuel, Executive Director, Kent, WA, USA

South Sudan Reborn Inc., Pa’gan Amum Okiech, Spokesperson, Denver, CO, USA

South Sudan Women United

South Sudanese Women Christian Mission for Peace

The Center for Democracy and Peace, Sabri Elshareef, Director, New Jersey, NJ, USA

The Nile Institute for Peace and Development (NIPD), William Pay Tuoy-Giel, M.Ed., Founder and Executive Director, Phoenix, AZ, USA

The Regional Centre for Training and Development of Civil Society (RCDCS), Dr. A.M. Girshab, Director General, Khartoum, Sudan

United Sudanese and South Sudanese Communities Association (USASSCA), Henry Y. Lejukole, PhD, Chairman, Des Moines, IA, USA

Western Equatoria Community Association (WECA), Moses Dangba, Executive Director, USA

Ahmed H. Adam, Visiting Fellow, Institute for African Development (IAD), Cornell University, New York, NY, USA

Hamid E. Ali, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Public Policy and Administration, The American University in Cairo, New Cairo, Egypt

David Alton, Lord Alton of Liverpool, Independent Crossbench Member of the House of Lords, Professor of Citzenship, Liverpool John Moores University, London, UK

Bangasi Joseph Bakosoro, Former Governor, Western Equatoria State, South Sudan

Sharon Carver, 1st United Presbyterian Church of Crafton Heights, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Jan Colijn, Dean Emeritus, Stockton University, Galloway, NJ, USA

The Baroness Cox, The UK Parliament, Westminster, London, UK

Asha Khalil Elkarib, Dr. CS Activist and Researcher, Khartoum, Sudan

Karen Henderson, Volunteer to Sudan and South Sudan, Waverly, OH, USA

Robert K. Hitchcock, PhD, Kalahari Peoples Fund, Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, Albuquerque, NM, USA

Ellen J. Kennedy, Ph.D., Executive Director, World Without Genocide at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, St. Paul, MN, USA

Khalid Kodi, Adjunct Professor, Boston College, Brown University, Boston, MA, USA

Dr. Deborah Mayersen, Historian, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia

Victoria Sanford, PhD, Professor & Chair, Department of Anthropology, Lehman College, Director, Center for Human Rights & Peace Studies, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

K.M. Greg Sarkissian, President, International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (Division of Zoryan Institute), Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Dr. Gregory H. Stanton, Founding President, Genocide Watch, Research Professor in Genocide Studies and Prevention, School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University, Arlington, VA, USA

Henry C. Theriault, Ph.D., Founding Co-Editor, Genocide Studies International, Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy, Worchester State University, Worcester, MA, USA

Rebecca Tinsley, Journalist and Author, London, UK

Dr. Samuel Totten, Professor Emeritus, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Author of Genocide by Attrition: Nuba Mountains, Sudan, Fayetteville, AK, USA

Ernesto Verdeja, Executive Director, Institute for the Study of Genocide, New York, NY, USA

Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, Dr. Marsha Raticoff Grossman Associate Professor of Holocaust Studies, Director, Master of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies Program, Stockton University, Galloway, NJ, USA

John H. Weiss, Professor of History, Founder/Director, Caceres-Neuffer Genocide Action Group, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

Act for Sudan, Eric Cohen, Co-Founder, San Francisco, CA, USA

African Freedom Coalition, Al Sutton M.D., President, New York, NY, USA

African Soul, American Heart, Debra Dawson, President, Fargo, ND, USA

American Friends of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Sudan (AFRECS), Richard Parkins, Executive Director, Alexandria, VA, USA

Brooklyn Coalition for Darfur & Marginalized Sudan, Laura Limuli, Coordinator, Brooklyn, NY, USA

Christian Solidarity International-USA, The Rev. Heidi McGinness, Director of Outreach, Denver, CO, USA

Colorado Coalition for Genocide Awareness and Action, Tim Kubick, Ph.D., Chair, Denver, CO, USA

Colorado Episcopal Foundation, Anita Sanborn, President, Denver, CO, USA

Comité Soudan, Diagne Chanel, Présidente, Paris, France

Concerned Citizens for Change, Gene Binder, Steering Committee Member, Bronx, NY, USA

Darfur Action Group of South Carolina, Richard Sribnick, MD, President, Columbia, SC, USA

Darfur and Beyond, Cory Williams, Co-Founder, Phoenix, AZ, USA

Darfur Interfaith Network, Martha Boshnick and Richard Young, Co-Chairs, Washington, DC, USA

Dear Sudan Love Marin, Gerri Miller, Founder and Coordinator, Tiburon, CA, USA

Doctors to the World, Honduras/ Nepal/Nuba Mountains – The Sudan, C. Louis “PJ” Perrinjaquet, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Breckenridge, CO, USA

Empower One, Mike Congrove, Executive Director, Dallas, TX, USA

Enough Project, Brian Adeba, Associate Director of Policy, Washington, DC, USA

Genocide No More – Save Darfur, Marv Steinberg, Coordinator, Redding, CA, USA

Humanity United, David Abramowitz, Managing Director, Washington, DC, USA

Idaho Darfur Coalition, Marilyn Griep, Co-Founder, Boise, ID, USA

Institute for Sustainable Peace, Randall Butler, CEO, Houston, TX, USA

International Growth Centre, Richard Newfarmer, Country Director, South Sudan, Washington, DC, USA

Jewish World Watch, Mike Brand, Director of Advocacy & Programs, Encino, CA, USA

Jews Against Genocide, USA, Sharon Silber, Co-Director, New York, NY, USA

Joining Our Voices, Slater Armstrong, Founder/Director, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

Kentuckiana Taskforce Against Genocide, Robert Brousseau, Founder, Louisville, KY, USA

Long Island Darfur Action Group, Nancy Walsh, Coordinator, Farmingdale, NY, USA

Never Again Coalition, Diane Koosed and Loren Fortgang, Co-Chairs, Portland, OR, USA

New York Coalition for Sudan, Eileen Weiss, Co-Founder, New York, NY, USA

Nuba Mountain Peace Coalition, Bob Cooper, Dallas, TX, USA

OMNI Center for Peace, Justice & Ecology, Gladys Tiffany, Executive Director, Fayetteville, AK, USA

People4Sudan, Valerie Delacretaz, Global Coordinator, Geneva, Switzerland

Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition, David L. Rosenberg, Coordinator, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Pittsburgh Presbytery (PCUSA) International Partnership Ministry Team, The Rev. David B. Carver, Moderator, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship, Cody U. Watson, Jr., Associate Director, Birmingham, AL, USA

Redstone Presbytery Mission Committee, Rev. Sylvia Carlson, Chair, Greensburg, PA, USA

San Diego Lost Boys of Sudan, Karen Richards, President, Carlsbad, CA, USA

San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition, Mohamed Suleiman, President, San Francisco, CA, USA

Society for Threatened Peoples, Mr. Ulrich Delius, Africa Desk, Göttingen, Germany

South Sudan Mission Task Group, Paul A. Lucia, Facilitator, Reading, PA, USA

St. Clare’s Episcopal Church, The Reverend Ronald D. Culmer, Pleasanton, CA, USA

STAND: The Student-Led Movement to End Mass Atrocities, Savannah Wooten, Student Director, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

Stop Genocide Now, Katie Jay Scott, Managing Director, Redondo, CA, USA

Sudan Advocacy Action Forum, Eleanor Wright, PhD, Moderator, Birmingham, AL, USA

Sudan Evangelical Alliance Partners, Dr. Donnie Brake, President, United States/Kenya/South Sudan

Sudan Sunrise, Tom Prichard, Executive Director, Reston, VA, USA

Sudan Unlimited, Esther Sprague, Founder and Director, San Francisco, CA, USA

The Elsa-Gopa Trust, Nell Okie, Director, Madison, CT, USA

The MagkaSama Project, Max Dana, Founder, Paris, France

The Radler Foundation and East African Ministries, BJ Goergen, Executive Director, Fort Worth, TX, USA

Water is Basic, Stephen R. Roese, President, Dallas, TX, USA