SUDAN

According to United Nations officials, the Sudanese government is complicit in "repeated war crimes and crimes against humanity," resulting in "the worst humanitarian and human rights crisis in the world."

In a scorched earth policy, military forces and Arab militias have been killing, beating, raping, abducting and looting African civilians in the western Sudanese province of Darfur, resulting in an estimated 10,000 civilians killed and over one million displaced to refugee camps across the region. If the situation is not resolved quickly, conditions of widespread starvation and disease will soon ensue.

Since its founding, the American Federation of Teachers has often spoken out against violations of human rights and denial of worker freedoms throughout the world. In the case of Sudan, we do so again.

RESOLVED, that the AFT support the ending of violence in Sudan and send a message to the government of Sudan protesting its continuing pattern of gross human rights abuses; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT urge the U.S. government to work with the United Nations to support and expand humanitarian aid programs for displaced populations from Darfur, currently trapped in refugee camps in Sudan and Chad; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT work with representatives from the AFL-CIO, Education International, Public Service International and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions in offering support and assistance to the workers of Sudan.