On September 17 people around the world will take part in a Global Day for Darfur to show world-wide support for the Darfuri people and to put pressure on our Governments to protect the civilians.

(Details can be found on the dayfordarfur website from which this is drawn.)

Despite the signing of a Darfur peace agreement on 5 May 2006, the violence in western Sudan has not stopped; in fact, in some parts of Darfur, the violence has grown worse.

People are still being killed and raped and displaced – every single day.

Since 2003, between 200,000 and 400,000 people are believed to have been killed or seriously injured and more than two million people have been displaced. At this moment, over 3.5 million people risk starvation if the violence does not cease and adequate humanitarian aid is not provided.

Since the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement on May 5 of this year, conditions have actually deteriorated, and the possibility of a dramatic increase in death rates is increasingly real.

The Global Day for Darfur on September 17, 2006 will be an unprecedented effort to end this ongoing tragedy. International activists and organizations around the world are organizing a coordinated effort to urge the international community to:

• Strengthen the understaffed and overwhelmed African Union peacekeeping force now. We must offer extra help to the African peacekeepers already on the ground.

• Transition peacekeeping responsibilities to a stronger UN force as soon as possible. The UN must deploy peacekeepers with a strong mandate to protect civilians.

• Increase aid levels and ensure access for aid delivery. Shortfalls in aid continue to mean that people are at risk of starvation. Humanitarian organizations must have unfettered access to all who need help.

• Implement the Darfur Peace Agreement. For the violence to end, all parties to the agreement, in particular the Sudanese Government, must live up to their responsibilities.

Event planning is underway in New York, London, Paris, Abuja, Toronto, Cairo, Kigali, and Moscow—among many other cities. We encourage you to attend one of these events or organize an event of your own. Join the Global Day for Darfur to build awareness about the crisis and mobilize support for this international campaign.