African Celebrities Appeal to Heads of State over Darfur

A new commentary for allAfrica...

African leaders are meeting in Ghana, the land of Kwame Nkrumah, this week to discuss the future of the African Union. Their summit is dedicated to a single subject: the project of a continental government dreamed of by the founding fathers of the Organisation of African Unity: leaders such as Nkrumah, Léopold Senghor, Julius Nyerere and Gamal Abdel Nasser.

The founding fathers would be happy to see that Africa is moving in the right direction, but they would not be happy with what they see on the ground in western Sudan. This summit is taking place while millions of Africans are harassed, raped and killed with impunity on African soil. For four years, men, women and children have been killed in Darfur. The violence is now seeping into Chad.

The people of Darfur – whether Fur, Masalit, Arab from another group – are all suffering. African civilians are being killed, African peacekeepers are being shot and murdered, and many African aid workers trying to alleviate the suffering are being targeted for attack.

Rather than wait for the West and the UN to take action, this AU Summit must bring African solutions to the problem. AU leaders must send an unequivocal message to all those involved in the conflict that what is happening now will not be tolerated any longer, and if it does continue, then those responsible will be held to account.

To its credit, the African Union has sent a force to protect the people of Darfur, but it has not managed to stop the tragedy. These 7,000 personnel are trying their best, but they lack the means to fulfil their mission, and are themselves increasingly targeted. Ten African peacekeepers in Darfur have been killed since February.

It is estimated that more than 200,000 civilians have been killed or died as a result of the conflict. Over two million people have been driven from their homes by government forces, their militias and other armed groups. Another 140,000 have fled in 2007 alone.

The crisis is taking regional proportions. The same patterns of abuse are emerging in Chad: rapes, killings and destruction of property. The number of displaced Chadians is rising rapidly. In March, some 400 people were killed by militias in the villages of Tiero and Marena. Chadians urgently need protection to prevent further massacres, and the Chadian army is failing them.

We can't say [that] we don't know what's happening. Every day the media tells us how the already-dire situation has been deteriorating over the last year. Yet nothing has been done to improve conditions on the ground. Despite several peace agreements both in Sudan and Chad, civilians continue to suffer abuses. We hear, see and read reports of people who have lost everything.

NGOs are doing a good job stabilising the situation, but this should not be a license for others to stand by and watch. And they have warned that they may not be able to carry on any longer, unless security improves. The refugees and internally displaced people need to go back to their homes and carry on with their lives. Living in the camps is not a long-term option. But they cannot safely return at the moment.

African countries have not only a reason, but a duty, to do something. This is happening on our soil. Africans are tired of seeing their leaders stand by and wait for the West to act. From Dakar to Nairobi, from Tunis to Cape Town, the word is the same: enough is enough.

The African Union has no right to fail. At its creation, our leaders promised to promote peace and political stability, good governance, and economic prosperity. Looking back to the Rwandan genocide, when the world failed to act to stop about a million Africans from being killed, they promised [that] it would never happen again.

African leaders meeting this week can fulfil their promises in Darfur. They must make a firm commitment to stop the killings and immediately protect civilians. The politics of business as usual will not end a deliberate policy of targeted killings. This Summit offers an extraordinary opportunity. It would be a defining moment for the African Union to act first, without waiting for the United Nations or Western governments.

The Darfur tragedy is the perfect opportunity for African leaders to show the kind of leadership [that] they demonstrated when they stood firm and made huge sacrifices to fight the apartheid regime of South Africa. They have the backing of all individuals, institutions and governments that are committed to the sanctity of human rights and human life.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, South Africa

Baba Maal, Musician, Senegal

Angelique Kidjo, Musician, Benin

Emmanual Jal, Rap Artist, Sudan

Chimande Adichie, Writer, Nigeria

Tegla Loroupe, Athlete, Kenya

Rachid Taha, Musician, Algeria

Mohamed Mounir, Musician, Egypt