Letter to John Kerry on the appointment of another senior official on Sudan and South Sudan
Published: 30 Jul 2016
July 30, 2016
The Honorable John F. Kerry
Secretary
Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520
RE: The Office of the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan
Dear Secretary Kerry:
Given the urgent crises in Sudan and South Sudan, we, the undersigned 70 human rights groups, activists, scholars and civic leaders, write to request the immediate appointment of a prominent senior level official to support the engagement of the U.S. Special Envoy’s Office in South Sudan.
We appreciate the work of Ambassador Donald Booth and his staff to end state sponsored violence and indiscriminate bombing in Darfur, the Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and Blue Nile state and to promote human rights throughout Sudan, including the right to humanitarian aid. In addition, we are grateful for their work with the parties in South Sudan to end conflict, implement the Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid in order to address and avert a growing and dangerous humanitarian crisis, while remaining mindful of the dynamic between Sudan and South Sudan as part of its efforts to end conflict and build peace in the region. The problems in both countries are massive, interconnected and unfortunately may grow worse in the days ahead, creating an even greater risk for the people of Sudan and South Sudan who have suffered for far too long.
The situations in both countries require constant engagement and attention to one country should not be at the expense of the other. Therefore, we request the appointment of a prominent senior level official who is respected by the parties in South Sudan to serve as a second Special Envoy to work in conjunction with Ambassador Booth. We understand a new Administration is forthcoming; however until that time, the current Administration should do everything it can to save lives and to support stability in the region by bolstering its engagement in Sudan and South Sudan. It is our hope that the model you establish will be replicated by the next Administration.
As you stated recently, South Sudan does not have a better friend than the U.S. That relationship is especially important at this critical time. Please consider our urgent request.
Sincerely,
Bonnie Abaunza, Abaunza Group, Los Angeles, CA
Ted Dagne, African Refugees and Victims Relief Fund, Silver Spring, MD
Debra Dawson, President, African Soul, American Heart, Fargo, ND
Albaqir A Mukhtar (PhD), Director, Al Khatim Adlan Center for Enlightenment & Human
Development (KACE), Khartoum, Sudan
Omer Abdelsawi Omer, Blue Nile Association for Peace and Development, Mulberry, FL
Laura Limuli, Coordinator, Brooklyn Coalition for Darfur & Marginalized Sudan, Brooklyn, NY
Samuel Geng, Executive Director, Centre for Livelihood and Peace Research for Poverty Reduction,
Juba, South Sudan
The Reverend Susan Fortunato, Rector, Christ Episcopal Church Poughkeepsie, Poughkeepsie, NY
The Rev. Heidi McGinness, Director of Outreach, Christian Solidarity International-USA, Denver, CO
Kwaje Lasu, MPH, RCP, Chairman of the Board, Coalition of Advocates for South Sudan, Ypsilanti,
MI
Dr. Timothy Kubik, Chair, Colorado Coalition for Genocide Awareness and Action, Denver, CO
Gene Binder, Steering Committee Member, Concerned Citizens for Change, Bronx, NY
Richard Sribnick, MD, Chairman, Darfur Action Group of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Cory Williams, Co-Founder, Darfur and Beyond, Phoenix, AZ
Mohamed Ebead, President, Darfur Association of New York
Martha Boshnick and Richard Young, Co-Chairs, Darfur Interfaith Network, Washington, DC
Gerri Miller, Founder and Coordinator, Dear Sudan Love Marin, Tiburon, CA
C. Louis “PJ” Perrinjaquet, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Doctors to the World, Breckenridge, CO
Kwaje Lasu, MPH, RCP, President, Equatorian South Sudanese Community Association-USA, Ypsilanti, MI
Abdelrahman Gasim, President, Face Past for Future Foundation (FP4F), Kampala, Uganda
Marv Steinberg, Coordinator, Genocide No More – Save Darfur, Redding, CA
Theresa Samuel-Boko, Secretary, Global Partnership for Peace in South Sudan, Santa Clara, CA
Marilyn Griep, Co-Founder, Idaho Darfur Coalition, Boise, ID
Andie Lambe, Executive Director, International Refugee Rights Initiative, Kampala, Uganda
Sharon Silber, Co-Director, Jews Against Genocide, New York, NY
Slater Armstrong, Founder/Director, Joining Our Voices, Baton Rouge, LA
Sr. Marilyn Lacey, Executive Director, Mercy Beyond Borders, Santa Clara, CA
Lauren Fortgang, Co Founder, Never Again Coalition, Portland, OR
Silvestro Akara Bakhiet, Founder / President, New Sudan Generation, San Francisco, CA
Eileen Weiss, Co-Founder, New York Coalition for Sudan, New York, NY
George Tuto, Chairman, Nuba Christian Family Mission, Inc., Denver, CO
Nuraddin Mannan, Nubia Project, Washington, DC
David L. Rosenberg, Coordinator, Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition, Pittsburgh, PA
Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (USA)
Dr. Mutaal Girshab, Director, RCDCS, Khartoum, Sudan
Nancy Wilson, President and CEO, Relief International, Washington, DC
Karen Richards, President, San Diego Lost Boys of Sudan, Carlsbad, CA
Hanna Andrew K. Dijok, Executive Director, Sisters Hope for South Sudan, Washington, DC
Nyakan Gile, Co-Founder, South Sudan Women United, Washington, DC
Dr. Eleanor Wright, Moderator, Sudan Advocacy Action Forum, Birmingham, AL
Esther Sprague, Director, Sudan Unlimited, San Francisco, CA
Nell Okie, Director, The Elsa-Gopa Trust, Madison, CT
The Rev. Dr. Ayyoubawaga B. Gafour, Vicar, The Sudanese Community Church of Denver, Episcopal Diocese of Colorado, Denver, CO
Bahar Arabie, CEO, Unite for Darfur Organization, Gaithersburg, MD
Sandra Hammel, Director, Use Your Voice to Stop Genocide Rhode Island
Olivia Warham MBE, Director, Waging Peace, London, England
Hamid E. Ali, PhD, The American University in Cairo, Egypt
Prof. Israel W. Charny, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist & Family Therapist, Executive Director, Institute on the Holocaust & Genocide, Jerusalem, Israel
G. Jan Colijn, Dean Emeritus, Stockton University, Galloway, NJ
The Baroness (Caroline) Cox, House of Lords, Westminster, UK
Debórah Dwork, Professor of History, Rose Professor of Holocaust History, Founding Director,
Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Clark University, Worcester, MA
Dr. Caroline Faria, Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Dr. Herbert Hirsch, Professor of Political Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Co-Editor, Genocide Studies International
Rev. Paul Hostetter, Retired Professor and Pastor, Missionary to South Sudan, Grand Rapids, MI
Ishraga Ahmed Khamis, Human Rights Activist, Blue Nile Liberated Areas, Sudan
Gill Lusk, Writer on the Sudans, London, UK
Dr. Deborah Mayersen, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia
Gerard Prunier, Consultant and Scholar, Affiliation Atlantic Council, Paris, France
Eric Reeves, Northampton, MA
Elihu D. Richter MD MPH, Associate Professor, Hebrew University and Jerusalem Center for Genocide Prevention, Jerusalem, Israel
John K. Roth, Edward J. Sexton Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Claremont McKenna College, Winthrop, WA
Victoria Sanford, PhD, US Fulbright Scholar Colombia 2016-2017, Facultad de Derecho, Universidad
Libre, Professor & Chair, Department of Anthropology, Lehman College, Director, Center for Human
Rights & Peace Studies, Doctoral Faculty, The Graduate Center, City University of New York
K.M. Greg Sarkissian, President, International Institute of Genocide and Human Rights Society, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Paul Slovic, Professor, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
Roger W. Smith, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA
Dr. Gregory Stanton, Genocide Watch, Arlington, VA
Dr. Samuel Totten, Professor Emeritus, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Author of Genocide by Attrition: Nuba Mountains, Sudan, Fayetteville, AK
Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, Associate Professor, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Director, Master of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies Program, Stockton University, Galloway, NJ
Elhag Warrag, Editor in Chief, Hurriyat, Egypt
John H. Weiss, Associate of Professor of History, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY