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To mark World Refugee Day today, the Sudan Now campaign placed an ad in the Washington Post that draws attention to the volatile situation in Sudan, calling on Vice President Biden to stay personally involved now that he has seen firsthand the acute challenges the country faces.
The most recent statistics show that Sudan produces the most refugees and internal displaced persons combined than any other country in the world. Nearly 5 million people are internally displaced, and 350,000 Sudanese live as refugees. Violence is on the rise in the Darfur region and in southern Sudan, and this very fragile situation will be further tested when the South votes in less than seven months on whether the country will split in two. All signs point to separation, but arrangements over how the North and South will deal with such hotly contested issues such as the border, oil wealth, the Nile River, and even the terms of the referendum remain undone. At the same time, a peace process for Darfur looks increasingly unlikely to deliver a lasting solution to a conflict that has endured for over seven years and left 3 million Darfuris displaced from their homes.Leadership from the highest levels of the Obama administration is needed to help ensure that Sudan does not slip back to full-scale war. Vice President Biden’s recent visit to the region and engagement on Sudan was a promising initial step, but to have a meaningful impact, the vice president must stay involved at this critical moment.
In today’s ad in the Washington Post, Sudan Now called on Vice President Biden to:
— Make Sudan a centerpiece his and President Obama’s personal diplomacy
— Step up U.S. support for full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between North and South and the pre-referendum negotiations currently underway
— Play a more direct role in revitalizing Darfur’s peace process, ensuring access for humanitarian assistance and promoting accountability.
Please help share this message by posting a link (http://tiny.cc/SudanVP) on Facebook and Twitter, directed to @whitehouse, and sending Vice President Biden a personalized note to thank him for taking an important first step to engage on Sudan during his recent trip to east Africa.