Contact: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
514-735-8778
WORLD’S LARGEST HUMANITARIAN CRISIS : CANADA MUST ACT NOW FOR SUDAN
Press Conference Details
Date & Time:Tuesday, June 18th 2024 at 11:30 (EDT)
Location:West Block Room 135-B
Ottawa, Canada-The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR) invites members of the press to attend anAll Party Press Conferenceat the Canadian Parliament onTuesday 18 June at 11:30 amto discussthe world’s largest humanitarian crisis,unfoldingin Sudan,andthe steps Canada must take nowto respond.
Canadian Launch of Inquiry into Genocide in Sudan
- We will highlight conclusions from ourgroundbreaking independent inquiryinto breaches of the Genocide Convention in Darfur, Sudan.
- That inquiry, endorsed by dozens of world leading jurists globally, found theRapid Support Forces(RSF) responsible for committing genocide in Darfurandhas identified the actors complicit, including the United Arab Emirates.
Testifying Before Subcommittee on Human Rights
- Yonah Diamond, RWCHR Senior Legal Counsel and the inquiry’s co-author, will alsotestify before Canada’s Subcommittee on Human Rightson these stark findings, including the recent deterioration of the situation in Darfur, particularly the besieged city of El Fasher, and how Canada can respond.
Calling on Canada to Act
- We are calling on parliament to unanimously adopt amotion for consent on Sudan.
- We call on the government of Canada tocondemnthose responsible for this genocidal campaign and toimpose sanctionsupon them and their enablers, to increasehumanitarian assistance, to help stopthe flow of weaponsentering Sudan, and to support international justice andaccountability mechanisms.
We invite all media representatives to attend this Press Conference and to shed light on the shamefully underreported crisis in Sudan.
Participation in the question and answer portion of this event is in person or via Zoom, and is for accredited members of the Press Gallery only. Media who are not members of the Press Gallery may contact
About the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights:
We take on the most pressing struggles forjustice, freedom, and democracyaround the world. Founded and led by Irwin Cotler, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, we mobilize and engage a non-partisan, global coalition of parliamentarians, scholars, jurists, NGOs, activists, and students to take a collective stand for international justice and human rights.
The RWCHR was founded and is led by Irwin Cotler, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. As a parliamentarian, he founded theAll-Party Save Darfur Coalition. Justice for Darfur has been a key area of focus for our Centre since its creation.
Last year, we submitted a comprehensive recommendation toGlobal Affairs Canada, presenting compelling evidence against eleven Sudanese entities directly or indirectly supporting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) or the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Following our advocacy,Canada imposed a first set of sanctions against those individuals this April.
Background on the Crisis in Darfur, Sudan:
The conflict that broke out last April between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has turned a pre-existing humanitarian crisis into an emergency of unprecedented and global magnitude. This ongoing humanitarian catastrophe is amplified by the acts of genocide outlined in ourindependent inquirypublished in April.
Humanitarian Catastrophe: The violence in Sudan has created the most severe humanitarian crisis globally, with 25 million people in need of aid, 10 million displaced, and a projected 2.5 million deaths due to famine in the coming months.
UN Resolution: On June 13, 2024, the UN Security Council demanded that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) cease its siege on El Fasher, North Darfur, and called for increased humanitarian response funding.
Genocide and Atrocities: The RSF, successor to the Janjaweed militias, has committed genocide, burning villages, massacring boys and men, and using systematic sexual violence against women and girls.
International Inquiry:The RWCHR, led by the Hon. Irwin Cotler, has released findings identifying the RSF as responsible for genocide in Darfur and naming those responsible for funding and arming the genocide.
Canada’s Obligations:Canada is obligated to prevent genocide and protect civilians at risk under international law.
For Additional Media Inquiries, please contact:
Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR)
514-735-8778
The following individuals would also be pleased to speak with the press at another time:
- Yonah Diamond, Senior Legal Counsel, RWCHR and inquiry co-author
- Mutasim Ali, Legal Advisor, RWCHR and inquiry co-author
- Irwin Cotler, International Chair, RWCHR and Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Quotes:
“Just twenty years after the first genocide of the 21st century unfolded in Darfur, the same perpetrators are committing the same atrocities against the same innocent groups, all while evading accountability. This time, we know the actors fueling this genocide and should employ all means available to hold them accountable and end the flow of finances and arms to the RSF.”-Yonah Diamond and Mutasim Ali, co-authors.
"Every genocide in human history has been made possible not only by the machinery of death and ideology of hatred, but by crimes of indifference, conspiracies of silence, and a network of complicity. What makes the present genocide in Darfur so unspeakable in our time is that it was, and is, entirely preventable."- Irwin Cotler, International Chair, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
