In a bipartisan show of force, the Senate unanimously passed the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act which would authorize state and local governments to divest from companies that support the Khartoum government at the expense of marginalized populations in Sudan and prohibit federal contracts with those companies. Darfur activists have been aggressively pushing this legislation, and the groups – including the Save Darfur Coalition, Genocide Intervention Network, National Association of Evangelicals, American Jewish World Service and NAACP – together hailed this critical step and urged the Bush administration to end its efforts to obstruct this important legislation. "We commend the Senate for pushing the United States towards fulfilling its responsibility to protect civilians in Darfur,” the groups said in a joint statement. “We specifically highlight the tireless efforts of Senators Dodd, Shelby, Reid and Durbin, who all worked to ensure the measure passed in a unanimous, bipartisan fashion. It is incomprehensible that at a time when significant pressure is needed to change Khartoum’s behaviour, the Bush administration would delay and even oppose efforts to hit the perpetrators where it hurts the most – their wallets. Further efforts by the administration to derail this legislation must end now. The collective efforts of our organizations will not end until President Bush signs this measure into law.”

The US envoy to the UN on Thursday threatened Sudan with additional sanctions if it continued to drag its feet on allowing the deployment of 26,000 UN-African Union peacekeepers in Darfur.

In an article for the Responsible Investor Scott Wisor, of the Sudan Divestment Task Force, accused firms like China National Petroleum Corporation, Oil and Natural Gas Company of India, and Petronas of Malaysia of providing an economic lifeline for the genocidal Sudanese regime.

Stopping genocide in Darfur must be an important political priority for the next president of the United States. Concerned Americans from across the country want to know that the next president is willing and able to meet this moral challenge.
Act now by visiting www.AskTheCandidates.org — sign the petition to all candidates and stay up to date on where they stand on Darfur.
For more information of this Genocide Intervention Network campaign visit www.genocideintervention.net