World Calls for Action on Darfur, UK Religious Leaders Pray

Campaigners around the world took up the cause of Darfur Sunday at meetings and rallies in over 50 cities with the call for an end to the civil war in the troubled region in western Sudan.

|PIC1|Amnesty International and Human Rights watch were just two of the roughly 30 human rights organisations that put together the massive Global Day for Darfur initiative.

The event was organised to coincide with the start of the United Nations General Assembly debate this week and to mark the first anniversary of the signing of the 2005 UN World Summit Outcome Document which pledged "to take collective action... if national authorities manifestly fail to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity," according to the event's organisers.

From London to New York, Melbourne to Seoul, from Berlin to Stockholm, cities around the world united to end the conflict between the rebels and the government-backed Arab militia who have been locked in conflict since February 2003, leaving more than 300,000 dead and another 2.5 million displaced, according to the UN.

Tony Blair added to the voices calling for action as he appealed to his counterparts in the EU in a letter to put heavy pressure on the Sudanese government to end the civil war, stating that the EU should play a "central role in mobilising world opinion on this issue".

He also condemned the Sudanese government for rejecting a UN peacekeeping force for the troubled region and accused it of breaking ceasefire arrangements.

In London, some of the most senior religious figures from Britain's Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities gathered outside Downing Street today to offer prayers for Darfur.

Those gathered included head of the Catholic Church, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Methodist Coordinating Secretary for Public Life and Social Justice, Anthea Cox, Rabbi Danny Rich of Liberal Judaism, and Khadijah El Shayyal of the Islamic Society of Britain.

They were met by Baroness Amos, Leader of the House of Lords, who warned that the world must not once again turn a blind eye to an unfolding crisis in Africa, saying: "We do not want to see a repeat of what happened in Rwanda when the world community turned its face away."

Prayers written by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra were read out at 12.30pm Sunday, while a message was also sent from the Catholic Bishop of El Obeid, whose diocese includes Darfur.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, was among the leaders from the Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths who were at the event. He said: "The situation is catastrophic in terms of the violence, the murders, the displacement of people."

He urged governments to "do all in their power" to put pressure on the Sudanese Government, which is resisting pressure to keep an African Union force in the region and see a handover to United Nations peacekeepers.

When questioned about the furore that has broken out over comments the Pope made on Islam, Cardinal Murphy O'Connor stressed that he was not here to discuss that but to highlight the crisis in Darfur.

He said prior to the prayer: "Desperation is growing for the innocent people of Darfur. The conflict has left hundreds of thousands dead and driven millions more from their homes.

"If the humanitarian situation continues to worsen, many more will be affected. It will be on the conscience of the world if we allow Darfur to descend further into suffering."

This is the first time the three major faiths have spoken out jointly about the situation in Darfur.

Rabbi Morris Michaels, Chair of the Assembly of Reform Rabbis, said, "We must do all what we can to draw attention to what is happening in Darfur. We must not sleep walk into another Rwanda. By working with other faiths we can show that principles like the protection of civilians are universal ones."

The prayer gathering at 10 Downing Street was organised by Muslim Aid, World Jewish Aid, Christian Aid, World Vision, Tearfund, CAFOD and Waging Peace.