About DAN
Dream for Darfur Campaign
Background Information
In February 2003, ethnic groups from Darfur in western Sudan began an uprising against the Arab-dominated national government in Khartoum in response to years of neglect and underdevelopment. The government retaliated by arming and mobilising militia groups, known as the Janjaweed. In order to fund the genocide and the military operations, the Sudanese government is relying heavily on its oil resources and investments from a handful of foreign oil companies, the largest which is the Chinese government owned, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). Over the past 10 years, China has developed Sudan’s oil industry and it also supports Sudan financially through loans and export credits.
Oil revenue in 2002 accounted for 44.76 percent of Sudanese government income ($805 million out of $1.79 billion). The same year, military spending took up 38.8 percent of Sudanese government oil revenue, which, in turn is used to carry out the Darfur genocide. The majority of Sudan’s oil - up to 80 per cent of its production- is exported to China, giving China the opportunity to apply considerable pressure on the Sudanese government. However, China has a history of non-interference in other countries’ affairs and has stated that the genocide in Sudan is an internal Sudanese matter. As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China has continually used threats of vetoing in order to water down resolutions which would hold Sudan accountable for the violence, as a result of it strong economic interests in the country. China did support Resolution 1706, which authorized UN peacekeepers in Darfur. However, the Resolution required Khartoum's consent, which had not been forthcoming.
Taking a step towards ending the genocide in Darfur, China has played a crucial role in pushing the Sudanese Government into accepting Resolution 1769. This marks a shift from its original strategy. The change responded to growing rumours of countries and personalities refusing to take part in the Olympics on the grounds of China’s involvement in Sudan. In particular, Steven Spielberg’s announcement that he will consider resigning from his position as Artistic Advisor to the 2008 Olympic Games if the Chinese government does not do more to halt the violence had a decisive impact on the government in Beijing. In a letter to President Hu Spielberg asked China to change its policy toward Sudan and pressure the Sudanese Government to accept the entrance of United Nations peacekeepers to protect the victims in Darfur.
However, this is not enough. The Resolution lacks references to the role of sanctions, a monitoring mechanism, the seizure, collection and disposal of arms in violation of the embargo and the peace agreements, as well as strong language condemning the government for obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid. Moreover, putting together the UNAMID force will not be easy. Sudan’s insistence that it have a “predominantly” African character makes it complicated to find the necessary resources. The availability of experienced, trained troops available in African countries is limited and African governments do not want to place their soldiers in harm’s way. The deadline for committing support to the force has been pushed forward due not receiving the required assistance required to deploy force, meanwhile the situation in Darfur continues to deteriorate. It has been recently announced by the UN that more than 55,000 persons have been displaced from their homes throughout Darfur during the period from June to August this year.
China’s interests in Sudan are mainly associated with the oil industry. China depends on a continuously increasing amount of resources, particularly oil, to keep fuelling its expanding economy. Unfortunately the Chinese government do not care how many innocent victims are being killed and displaced in the mean time. Direct international pressure from Western countries is increasingly being flouted by the Sudanese government, due to its special relationship with China. Since sanctions have been imposed against Sudan by the US and Europe, China has become the country’s largest foreign investor and has poured an estimated US$15 billion into the country. In addition, the largest oil company operating in Sudan, CNPC has invested a further US$5 billion!
China also supplies the Sudanese military with weapons and aircraft, paid for with the money Sudan receives from selling its oil to China. In April China delivered six military attack aircrafts with six more to follow. The Sudanese government only survives because of massive Chinese and commercial investment. Was China to apply economic pressure on Sudan, the government would be forced to listen as the genocide would not be able to be sustained financially if China was to withdraw its investments. China has been approached diplomatically and still remains complacent to the atrocities occurring in Darfur. The only way now is to give China a clear message that the world is not going to accept the genocide in Darfur or their funding of it!
Campaign Information
The 2008 Olympic games and China’s pride over hosting the event has offered us an opportunity to exert pressure on the Chinese government to take action and stop the genocide!
The Dream for Darfur campaign is being run by organisations across the world. The campaign aims to encourage China to utilise its strong diplomatic and economic ties in Sudan to urge the Sudanese Government to cease hostilities in Darfur, follow through on disarmament agreements and begin a diplomatic peace process. The 'Dream for Darfur' campaign which draws on the spirit of the Olympics is also aimed at increasing public awareness and understanding of the conflict in Darfur within Australia and to advocate to the Australian Government to improve their support to the UNAMID peacekeeping force.
Dream for Darfur is a global initiative and DAN is the leading organisation in Australia advocating for Darfur through the Dream for Darfur campaign by:
- Building further awareness within the Beijing regime regarding the implications of their involvement in Sudan
- Encouraging China to engage with their opportunities and responsibility as a member of the international community to utilise their influence in Sudan to ensure peace in Darfur
- Lobby the Australian Government to draw on their diplomatic ties with China to address the Beijing regime and its involvement in Darfur and improve the Australian Governments' support of the UNAMID
- Further enhancing the Australian public awareness of the conflict in Darfur and China's involvement
- Raising media awareness of the conflict in Darfur and the implication of China's involvement in Sudan on the Darfur crisis
We are calling for everyone who wants to see the end of genocide in Darfur to get behind the Dream for Darfur campaign and spread the word about the disgraceful behaviour of China in its dealings with the Sudanese government!
FAQ’s
Why is the campaign called Dream for Darfur?
The campaign has been named the Dream for Darfur because linking the Olympic games to the genocide in Darfur has proved effective as it links the genocide with an event China is very proud of hosting and which it does not want tainted by negative coverage connected with Darfur. The Olympic slogan for Beijing 2008 is One World, One Dream. 'Dream for Darfur' calls on the Chinese Government to bring the Olympic slogan to Darfur before the world brings Darfur to Beijing 2008.
Is the campaign an attempt to boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympics?
No. The intention of the campaign is not to boycott the Olympic Games or athletes competing in the Games. Rather, the Olympics are being used as a tool to bring international attention to the issue and thereby shaming China into acting. A successful boycott would be extremely unlikely and it would also not serve the interests of the campaign as it would eliminate the political platform from which we are working.
How is a campaign directed at the Beijing Olympics going to stop genocide in Darfur?
The genocide in Darfur, which has caused up to 400.000 deaths as a result of direct attacks as well as conflict induced malnutrition and disease, is only possible due to China’s investment in Sudan’s oil industry and its financial backing of the Sudanese government. International diplomatic efforts to try and get China to act in Darfur have failed and as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China is blocking any efforts the UN are trying to make to halt the violence. The Olympic games will bring an unprecedented amount of international media attention to China providing the campaign an invaluable platform to broadcast China’s complacency about Darfur across the world and force China to take action. China is very proud of hosting the Olympic games in 2008 and does not want its Games to be tarnished with the linking of China to genocide in Darfur.
How can I find out more information about China’s involvement in Sudan?
The following links provide detailed information outlining China’s involvement in Sudan, how China’s investment in Sudan’s oil industry is implicated in the oil industry and how China is backing the Sudanese military which is responsible for genocide.
http://www.dreamfordarfur.org/
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/sdn-080507-news-eng
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/sudan1103/26.htm
For more information contact us.
Get Involved
We are calling for everyone who wants to see the end of genocide in Darfur to get behind the Dream for Darfur campaign and spread the word about the disgraceful behaviour of China in its dealings with the Sudanese government!
Spread the Word
Educate your family and friends about the tragedy that is occurring in Sudan and why China is the key to forcing Khartoum to stop genocide. The world declared that they would never allow the atrocity of the holocaust during World War II to ever occur again and yet up to 400,000 people have died in Darfur with the UN unable to act due to the Chinese governments’ own selfish national interests.
Buy a Dream for Darfur campaign t-shirt or coffee mug and display our stickers and posters
Coming Soon!
Send a letter or e-mail
Sending letters and e-mails to important government bodies and authorities involved in the Olympics is essential to the success of the Dream for Darfur campaign. Communicating to our leaders that this is something Australians will not accept will force them to apply pressure on China to take action!
Every letter and e-mail sent makes a huge impact and is an integral component to making Dream for Darfur a success!
Letters and Emails can be directed to the following bodies:
E-mail or write a letter to your Local MP expressing your concerns and ask them to present the issue in parliament.
Chinese Ambassador to Australia:
His Excellency Mr ZHANG Junsai
Embassy of the People's Republic of China to Australia
15 Coronation Drive
Yarralumla ACT 2600,
Australia
The Hon John Howard MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Australian Olympic Committee:
PO Box 312,
St Leonards NSW 1590
Australia
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
The Hon Alexander Downer MP
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Join the DAN campaign team
Become a part of making Dream for Darfur a catalyst for change in Darfur!
For more info e-mail: volunteer@darfuraustralia.org
Stay up to date
Keep watching this space for updates on the progress of the campaign and more ways for you to get involved. Together we can make it clear to China that if they want to host a successful Olympics that they can be proud of they need to act as a responsible member of the international community and bring their Olympic slogan ‘One World One Dream’ to Darfur!