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News7/14/08 ICC Charges Sudan's President With Genocide Sudan's president has been charged with genocide by the International Criminal Court in The Hague following an investigation into atrocities in the country's western Darfur province. Learn more at NPR.org 7/11/08 ICC May Seek Warrant For Sudan President The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court may seek an arrest warrant for Sudan's President Omar Bashir on charges of genocide in the country's Darfur region. It would be the first time a sitting head of state has been charged by the court. Learn more at NPR.org 7/09/08 7 Peacekeepers Killed In Darfur Ambush Seven peacekeepers from a joint U.N.-African Union force have been killed and 22 wounded in an attack in Sudan's Darfur region. The peacekeepers were killed when their unit was ambushed by more than 200 gunmen on Tuesday. Learn more at NPR.org 6/5/08 » U.N. Officials Visit Darfur, Assess Security Members of the U.N. Security Council are in Sudan's Darfur region Thursday for a first-hand look at the conflict there ... View full story from NPR 5/2/08 » Pastor to preach for 25 hours as Darfur benefit Tomah minister feels need to do something.astor Terry L. Terrell is about to give the longest sermon of his life. The 63–year-old Tomah minister will begin preaching for 25 straight hours on Sunday morning – ... View Full Article March 13, 2008, For Immediate Release Contact: Sachin Chheda, 414-412-6099 WISCONSIN STATE SENATE TAKES STAND AGAINST GENOCIDE Milwaukee – Below is the statement of the Darfur Action Coalition of Wisconsin on S.R. 28, passed today on a voice vote in the Wisconsin State Senate. The Darfur Action Coalition of Wisconsin commends the Wisconsin State Senate for finally taking action to address the genocide in Darfur. We commend Senator Spencer Coggs for his tremendous leadership on this issue, as well as Senator Sheila Harsdorf for her hard work over the past two years to draw attention to what has been referred to as the “world’s worst current humanitarian crisis.” And we commend Rep. Fred Kessler for his leadership and efforts in the State Assembly. At least 24 states have passed some form of divestment, and 16 states have passed a targeted divestment bill based on the Sudan Divestment Task Force model. Although the Coalition regrets that Wisconsin taxpayers and public employee retirees continue to invest in companies that fund genocide through the programs managed by the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, this resolution is a positive step forward, and we encourage SWIB to take action soon. Investing in genocide is not just morally wrong, it is bad business practice. The taxpayers and retirees who participate in the Wisconsin Retirement System are best served by an investment strategy that takes into account the risk placed on holdings in companies doing business with unstable regimes such as the Government of Sudan. As the Government of Sudan has been the primary perpetrators of a genocide that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and dislocated millions of its own people, it would seem to be common sense that continuing to invest in the few, isolated foreign companies that continue to do business there would be a bad idea. This is especially true since recent information published about the few companies still doing business in Sudan’s oil, mineral and infrastructure sectors shows that their stock is underperforming their peers in their markets. Of course, the Coalition believes the best solution is to require SWIB to take immediate action to pressure companies they invest in to stop funding genocide, and in the absence of timely action, to divest Wisconsin holdings from these companies. Encouraging SWIB to do so voluntarily is a good first step. ABOUT THE DARFUR ACTION COALITION: The coalition is a broad grassroots collective of religious, human rights, campus and civic organizations in Wisconsin, educating the public about the genocide in the Darfur region of the Sudan and moving people to action on behalf of the people of Darfur. PO Box 630, Milwaukee, WI 53208 | 414-433-4365  View SR 28 View this release in PDF format
1/20/08 » Intervention, Hailed as a Concept, Is Shunned in Practice New York Times — Three years after the United Nations adopted a groundbreaking resolution to help it intervene to stop genocide, even longtime supporters of the rule acknowledge that it has not helped the organization end the violence in Darfur ...  View Full Article 11/28/07 » Menasha High students come to the aid of Darfur MENASHA — Menasha High School students recently got a lesson on the importance of political activism ... View Full Article 10/24/07 Governor Jim Doyle declares October 24 as United Nations Day “... Pursuing Peace and Justice in Darfur and Empowering the Poorest of the Poor ...” View PDF of Declaration 10/20/2007 Darfur: Recognizing a shared humanity with those suffering under genocide By JOHN PRENDERGAST and COLIN THOMAS-JENSEN It is hard to imagine the human toll of four years of relentless violence in Darfur, Sudan ... Learn more 8/13/2007 Darfur campaign starts Olympic torch genocide tour Actress Mia Farrow and fellow campaigners have begun an Olympic–style torch relay through countries that have suffered genocide to press China to help end abuses in the Darfur region of its ally Sudan. ... Learn more 8/10/2007 State Governor's Commission on the United Nations is unique ... They meet four to six times a year, maintain a speakers bureau providing people to speak about the UN in schools and to civic organizations, issue position papers on UN–related subjects like the genocide in Darfur, ... Learn more 7/24/2007 Darfur crisis spurs Tosa teen to action "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Laura Dewire," the e–mail begins ... Learn more For Immediate Release, April 30, 2007 Contact: Sachin Chheda, 414-412-6099 Grassroots leaders gather in Madison to call for faster action on Sudan divestment (Madison)–Leaders across Wisconsin gathered today at a press conference to push for quicker action on the Kessler/ Harsdorf bill for targeted Sudan divestment. “Since the Wisconsin bill was introduced, states across the country have seen their divestment bills move forward,” said Sachin Chheda, Coordinator of the Darfur Action Coalition of Wisconsin.” “Iowa, Vermont, California and Colorado have implemented the same targeted divestment as proposed in Wisconsin. The State Senates in Texas, Rhode Island and Minnesota have each unanimously approved their legislation. With up to 1,000 people dying a week, it’s time to move the Wisconsin bill forward.” Citizens lobbied their legislators, delivered postcards from across the state from those who are calling for the bill’s passage, and asked for quicker action at meetings throughout the day. This event is one of more than 400 taking place during the third iteration of Global Days for Darfur, in every state and 20 additional countries. “Divestment is an important strategy because all Wisconsin citizens have an obligation to ensure we are not supporting genocide,” said Branton Kunz, Divestment Director for the statewide coalition and a leader of the Madison group Action in Sudan. “Time is running out – the crisis in Darfur has left over 400,000 dead, over 2.5 million displaced, and tens of thousands as rape victims. All of us have a responsibility to act – and each day legislators delay, people are dying.” Wisconsin is one of more than 20 states across the country considering targeted divestment legislation. The legislation was carefully crafted with the input of the national Sudan Divestment Task Force to ensure compliance with federal law and World Trade Organization regulations, and protect the fiduciary interests of individual participants in the state retirement system. “In Wisconsin, we too can make a difference,” said John Huebscher, of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference. “We can, by our state investment policy, show the world that we value human life and dignity more than fiscal benefits. We can witness our disgust at the economic forces that enable and abet the genocide taking place in that afflicted corner of our world.” The proposed legislation would ensure that investments controlled by the State of Wisconsin Investment Board are not made in those few companies determined to be providing support to the Sudanese military. U.S. companies are prohibited by federal sanctions from doing business in Sudan, and the State of Wisconsin has no investments in any Sudanese companies. However, there is no existing prohibition, nor any legal barrier to placing a legal prohibition, against investment in foreign or multi-national companies doing business in Sudan. Fiscal and legal concerns raised by the state investment board have been met with strong refutations and condemnation of their tactics. “We are not talking about just any company doing business in Sudan, just those few whose business practices and relationship with the Sudanese government result in significant profits flowing to the Sudanese military,” said Scott Warren, Senior National Field Organizer for the Sudan Divestment Task Force. “Retirees in Wisconsin will not face any burden,” said Chheda. “The bill takes care to ensure that only the worst offenders are faced with targeted divestment, and the legal and fiscal concerns raised by the State of Wisconsin Investment Board have been found sorely lacking in credibility.” Across the state, special prayers were said at Christian and Jewish houses of worship this past weekend. “These profits are used to commit genocidal attacks against the Black population of Darfur – and we must stop these attacks,” said Rev. Harold Moore, Pastor of Mercy Memorial Baptist Church, a member of the statewide Darfur Action Coalition. ”As members of the human family, we all have a responsibility to end genocide,” said Sarah Rand of the Presbytery of Milwaukee, a coalition member. “We often hear that politics is the art of the possible,“ said Huebscher. “What this bill asks is not only possible, it is necessary for the preservation of human life, dignity, and solidarity.” “The Coalition encourages all residents of Wisconsin to contact their representatives and encourage them to move quickly to approve the Sudan Divestment bill,” said Suzie deBeers of the Universal Unitarian Association, a coalition member. “Wisconsin citizens should be sure their tax dollars and retirement dollars are not being used to help slaughter thousands of people in Western Sudan,” said Chheda. “We applaud Senator Sheila Harsdorf and Assemblyman Fred Kessler for their leadership, and encourage the Legislature to quickly approve the Sudan Divestment Bill to help protect the people of Darfur.” For more information, see www.darfuractioncoalition.org or call the Darfur Action Coalition of Wisconsin at 414-433-4365. 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