"South Carolinians interested in answers on Darfur"
December 17, 2007

In October, I was honored to be a part of the Rally for Darfur, when nearly 5,000 South Carolinians came together on the grounds of the State House to call for peace and protection for the people of Darfur. No city in South Carolina ranks in the top 100 biggest in the United States, yet that gathering was the third-largest Darfur event in the United States, behind only rallies in Washington and New York.

Together, South Carolinians have shown Americans and the international community that we are the front-runners when it comes to showing up and taking action on the Darfur crisis. As co-chair of the ONE Campaign in South Carolina, I have had the opportunity to travel around our state and see firsthand just how committed my fellow South Carolinians are to alleviating the suffering of the African people.

On Dec. 10, the United Nations celebrated International Human Rights Day, but still Darfur knows no human rights. During the past week, more than three million Darfuris have continued to wait in overcrowded and unsafe camps for the peacekeepers they have been expecting to arrive since the passage of Resolution 1769 this summer. The United Nations has called the situation in Darfur "the world's worst humanitarian crisis." President Bush, the secretary of State and Congress have all labeled the crimes committed against the people of Darfur as genocide.

During the past five years the people of Darfur have endured terror, rape, torture, murder and those who survived have been displaced, left perishing from deprivation and disease. Forced to live in desolate refugee camps, they have been waiting for the promised United Nations/African Union peacekeepers to arrive on Dec. 31.

The truth is, however, that Dec. 31 will bring no peacekeepers, and the New Year can bring no peace without persistent pressure from the United States, working with the international community. The next president of the United States must understand the vital leadership role the United States has to play in the effort to end the genocide in Darfur. It is imperative that we elect a president who will work with South Carolinians in our pursuit of peace and protection for Darfur.

The local group that hosted October's event, the Darfur Action Group of South Carolina, is a diverse group of faith, business and community leaders, students and activists. I, and many other current and former elected officials, took part in the event and were thrilled to see so many of our fellow citizens so passionate about this issue. The local group continues to work across the state engaging local communities about the ongoing crisis in Darfur and educating voters. The Darfur crisis is a vital issue in the 2008 elections and, in the coming weeks, as presidential candidates from both parties come to visit our state, South Carolinians will want to know where they stand on the issue of Darfur.

Over the past decade, the United States has been the spark that has inspired fundamental change in Sudan. The Clinton administration pressured the government of Sudan to expel Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida cohorts. The Bush administration pressured the government to accept a peace — specifically, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement — that ended a 20-year civil war that had claimed two million lives. If the next president does not continue the commitment to lead the way on this issue, the consequences will be disastrous. The government of Sudan will use the opportunity to halt the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers, violate the peace and perpetrate mass atrocities against its own people.

At the Rally for Darfur, I and thousands of my fellow South Carolinians signed a petition calling on the United Nations to fully implement Resolution 1769, which has the power to promote peace and security in Darfur by providing:

• the full deployment of a robust U.N. peacekeeping force in Darfur;

• a full-time, high-level diplomatic initiative to resolve the conflict;

• the security for a complete implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, including the holding of scheduled national elections in 2009.

This week, as the minds of people around the world and across our state focus on the issues of neighborliness, justice and shared humanity, I am joining again with the Darfur Action Group of South Carolina and asking the candidates for president what they will do to ensure a lasting peace in Darfur. Asking them to stand with us and pledge their support for U.N. Security Council Resolution 1769. South Carolinians have put our pens where our passions are — our votes will follow.

Mr. Hodges is the former governor of South Carolina.