A federal panel on religious freedom has appealed to the Bush administration to mount a "comprehensive, sustained campaign" to pressure Sudan to respect basic human rights.
The U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom said in a March 21 report that the Sudanese government's abuse of human rights has reached "genocidal proportions," and has worsened since the commission's annual report on religious freedom last May.
That report urged Washington to help end the 18-year-old civil war in Sudan by tightening sanctions against the country, creating a military no-fly zone over Sudan, and pressuring the Sudanese government to end human-rights violations.
More than 2 million people have died since 1983 in fighting and war-induced famines amid the struggle between the Islamic government in the north and autonomy-seeking groups in the predominantly animist and Christian south.
The United States should strengthen economic sanctions against Sudan, the report said, and it should require foreign companies doing business with Sudan to disclose that information to investors in America when using U.S. markets to raise money.
The commission discouraged any appointment of an ambassador to Sudan. Commissioners suggested instead that Bush appoint an envoy "whose sole responsibility is directed to bringing about a peaceful and just settlement of the war in Sudan and an end to religious freedom abuses and humanitarian atrocities."
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom's March 21 report on Sudan and a related press release are available at the commission's Web site.
This week, the commission released its annual report, which reiterated many of its March 21 findings. Sudan, it said, is "the world's most violent abuser of the right to freedom of religion and belief." (See Christianity Today Weblog's take on the report.)
Our earlier coverage of the Sudan genocide includes:
Slave Redemption | Americans are becoming instant abolitionists. But is the movement backfiring? (Aug. 9, 1999) Turn Off Sudan's Oil Wells, Say Canadian Church Visitors | Christian leaders say they are "outraged" that a Canadian oil company is paying huge royalties to Sudanese government. (Apr. 20, 2001)
End the terror in Sudan | Call for change: If U.S. friends can't win the war, administration should try negotiating it. — Editorial, The Sun, Baltimore (May 2, 2001)
Talisman CEO faces human rights critics over Sudan | Human rights activists and Sudanese expatriates descended on Talisman Energy Inc.'s annual meeting on Tuesday to accuse the Canadian oil company of fueling Sudan's civil war, but Talisman's chief executive said the firm's presence was only improving the situation. — Reuters (May 1, 2001)
Sudan protest makes ddd bedfellows | Only a place as truly evil as Sudan could pull this crowd together — The Washington Post (Apr 30, 2001)
When will we act on Sudan's slave trade? | Millions of Americans have been made unknowing partners to the slave trade in Sudan because mutual funds or pension funds they hold contain Talisman stock. — Charles Jacobs, The Boston Globe (Mar. 23, 2001)