March 16, 2005
By: Paul Lungen
CJC urges Canadian action on Darfur
Canadian Jewish Congress is calling on the government of Canada to follow up its earlier pledges to help protect the residents of Darfur, Sudan from an “unfolding tragedy” that has already claimed 300,000 lives.
In a letter to Prime Minister Paul Martin, Congress urged the prime minister to make good on the “responsibility to protect” guidelines – which would give the international community the right to intervene in Sudan to prevent gross violation of human rights – that Martin has previously advocated.
“We trust that all necessary further steps will be implemented forthwith to ensure a successful Canadian foreign policy as it relates to Darfur. We also know from our advocacy work that many Canadians await with great anticipation the speedy enactment of an effective strategy, which will help protect the millions of innocents whose lives are at risk, while simultaneously bringing credit to us as a nation impelled by conscience,” states the letter from Mark Weintraub, chair of Congress’ national Darfur committee.
Following the NATO summit in Brussels recently, Martin said Canada was prepared to take part in an international force in Sudan. “We are prepared to do whatever is required, but we cannot simply sit by and watch what is happening in Darfur continue,” he said at the time. Martin discussed the Darfur situation with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and hinted that Canada would support United Nations efforts to establish a UN peacekeeping force in the Sudanese territory. Weintraub, however, said the UN route appears to be stalled. “Notwithstanding the efforts of Canadian and others, the [UN] Security Council seems no closer to taking effective action to provide protection to the people so tragically affected,” his letter stated.
In a telephone interview from Vancouver, Weintraub suggested Russia, China and Algeria were blocking a proposed UN peacekeeping force. While Canada can’t overcome these roadblocks alone, it can shine a spotlight on these countries for obstructing action on Darfur, he said.
The international community must do something to prevent genocide in Darfur, whether under UN auspices or as part of a NATO operation, he continued. “We don’t have the final answer here. We have skilled people in Ottawa and we need to have the political will to say, we are going to find a political solution here. This has got to be doable.” The Jewish community in particular must lend its support to Canadian efforts to end the Darfur genocide, he continued. The phrase “never again” must apply to all people, and Jews and Canadians face an “ethical imperative” to speak out against mass murder. “We don’t want to add Darfur to the list of genocides in five years and be watching Hotel Darfur (a reference to Hotel Rwanda, a film about the 1994 murder of Tutsis in that African state) in five years,” he said. “For our own internal credibility, we have an ethical imperative here,” he said. Congress has been urging the government for at least a year to take a leading role to end the crisis in Darfur. It is also calling on the Jewish community to lobby their MPs and other decision-makers on the issue.
Congress is sponsoring a national Purim petition that will be delivered to the government and it is working with rabbis to formulate a Passover program that might be included at seders to highlight the crisis in Darfur.
“The greatest response we’ve received is from the Holocaust survivor community, as this community wants to know their suffering was not in vain,” Weintraub added.
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