TITLE: Continued Support for the People of Darfur and of all Sudan. 

Submitted by Chris Llewellyn, Annie Brown, Linda McCullough, Marta Brenden, William Schauman, Robert Brown, Richard Marks, Clara Wing, Emily Moore, The Rev. Dr. Joan Beilstein (all members of Church of the Ascension, Silver Spring, Maryland), and The Sudan Darfur Advocacy Ministry of the Washington National Cathedral.

RESOLVED, that the One Hundred Fifteenth Convention of the Diocese of Washington commend the work of the 76^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in supporting Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) and the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), in its commitment toward relieving the suffering of the people of Darfur and of all Sudan; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Convention affirm the importance of human rights for the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons in Darfur and all Sudan and encourage the Episcopal Church to continue to advocate for stability in Sudan; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Convention support the following clause contained in the Administration’s Policy on Darfur; “calling for serious and sustained consultations between committed advocates and the Special Envoy to the Sudan at the United States Department of State”; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Convention ask the Administration to keep the situation in Sudan at the forefront of United States international policy; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Convention ask the Bishop of Washington to write a pastoral letter urging every congregation to pray for the people of Darfur and of all Sudan and to seek ways to promote justice for them via political, social, and religious avenues, as encouraged by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church; and be it further

RESOLVED, that this resolution, be sent to the Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, and to The Office of Government Relations and the Episcopal Public Policy Network, to bring this position of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington to the attention of the appropriate lawmakers in our nation.

Explanation:

The conflict in Darfur began in the spring of 2003 when two Darfuri rebel movements – the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) – launched attacks against government military installations as part of a campaign to fight against the historic political and economic marginalization of Darfur. The Sudanese government, at the time engaged in tense negotiations with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) to end a three decades long civil war between North and South Sudan, responded swiftly and viciously to extinguish the insurgency. Through coordinated military raids with government-armed militia (collectively known as the janjaweed), the Sudanese military specifically targeted ethnic groups from which the rebels received much of their support. The civilian casualties were immense. Over 400 villages were completely destroyed and millions of civilians were forced to flee their homes.

Since this conflict began until the present day, untold human casualties have occurred. Mass murders and the rapes of Darfurian civilians continue to this day despite efforts by the UN and organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to promote and enact international intervention. While movements advocating for Britain and the United States, European Union have repeatedly condemned the atrocities but have been unable to carry out effective actions to stop the war. Attempts to negotiate ceasefires and peace deals have been sporadic and slow.

Given that the situation in Darfur and all Sudan has not improved in the last six years and given that we are called as Christians to promote justice and peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being, as our baptismal vows command, we submit this resolution. We feel that it is a moral imperative for us as a denomination to continue to support the suffering people of Darfur and all Sudan and do all in our power to encourage and support all political, social, and religious efforts to end the genocide and violation of human rights that are occurring in Darfur and all Sudan.

This resolution has no budgetary implications.