Statement

2005

Task Force Chair Expresses Concerns About Darfur to the United Nations

The ITF calls for the international community to work to halt the on-going atrocities in Darfur and systematically condemn abuses of humanitarian and human rights law in Sudan.

In my capacity as current Chair of the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research, I wish to convey to you my deepest concerns regarding the current crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan.

As you know, the Task Force is committed to the 2000 Stockholm Declaration on the Holocaust, which states that:

“With Humanity still scarred by genocide, ethnic cleansing, racism, antisemitism and xenophobia, the international community shares a solemn responsibility to fight those evils.”

Our role is to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust, which was recently commemorated at the United Nations, are remembered and passed on to new generations. In this spirit of imparting an educational message in the post-Holocaust world, I strongly believe that it is my duty to share with you my concerns over the tragic consequences for civilian populations of the prolonged conflict in Sudan, in particular in the region of Darfur, and the resulting increase in the number of victims, refugees and internally displaced persons.

The international community certainly must increase its efforts to halt the on-going atrocities in Darfur, to systematically condemn abuses of humanitarian and human rights law in Sudan and to help bring to justice those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, “especially those with an ethnic dimension”, as stated in UN Resolution 1556.