for immediate release: September 17, 2006

Canadian Muslim Union calls for peace in Darfur

September 17 marks the one-year anniversary of the United Nations' pledge to provide security for civilians around the world. Even though a U.N. resolution calling for peacekeeping forces passed earlier this month at the Security Council, the situation in Darfur has continued to deteriorate.

The Sudanese government has launched a new military campaign; continues to reject the deployment of U.N. forces; and has threatened to eject African Union forces by the end of September, when their current mandate ends. Over a million people have been made homeless and thousands of people already dead. At the same time as renewed fighting and a military build up, the African Union forces who have been trying to keep the peace are threatening to withdraw.

Today, caring people around the world call for an end to the mass murder in Darfur. Citizens of the world want to show the United Nations, their governments, and Sudan that they are paying attention and demand a peaceful resolution. We call on our governments to do more to protect civilians in Darfur as the situation on the ground rapidly deteriorates.

The Darfur Peace Agreement signed in May this year by the government of Sudan and one of the rebel movements sets out a path for peace. It provides a framework in which all parties to this conflict can work for a peaceful solution. The UN Peacekeeping forces will provide relief to the much beleaguered and under-resourced African Union forces attempting to keep peace in the region and provide the opportunity for the implementation of a peace plan. We ask the government of Sudan to allow the UN Peacekeeping forces into Sudan to stop the violence that is threatening to destroy the nation.

"We urge all parties to engage in dialogue to give peace a chance," said El-Farouk Khaki, spokesperson for Canadian Muslim Union. Only a year ago every member of the United Nations accepted and endorsed their 'responsibility to protect' civilians and civilians' right to that protection. Now is the time for the international community to live up to that commitment. In particular, Arab governments have key roles in bringing an end to this conflict. Canadian Muslim Union urges Arab governments and the Arab league to work non-stop to bring a solution to what is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. By doing so they could lead not just the region but the entire world in setting moral standards for the way we carry out international relations.

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