GEORGE CLOONEY CALLS ON OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO APPOINT FULL-TIME SUDAN ENVOY

February 24, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2009Contact: press@savedarfur.org

Ann Brown, 202-478-6135
Ashley Roberts, 202-478-6181

Clooney delivers names of 250,000 Americans calling on administration to take immediate action to help end Darfur genocide
WASHINGTON - In a meeting last night with President Obama and Vice President Biden, George Clooney delivered the names of 250,000 American activists calling on the president to fulfill his promise to pursue an end to the Darfur genocide with "unstinting resolve." Clooney described what he saw on his trip last week to eastern Chad and called on Obama to appoint a full-time Sudan envoy in advance of the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Sudanese President al-Bashir, likely to be issued next week.
"The coalition is grateful for Mr. Clooney's unwavering commitment to advocate for an end to the violence that has plagued Darfur for six years," said coalition president Jerry Fowler. "His message that the Obama administration should engage in a sustained diplomatic effort to bring peace to Sudan is all the more critical given the Sudanese government's ominous threats of violence in response to the International Criminal Court's impending arrest warrant for President Bashir."
The 250,000 signatures delivered to the White House were collected as a part of the Save Darfur Coalition's Darfur from Day One campaign. The names were a down payment for the one million signatures the coalition hopes to deliver by President Obama's 100th day in office. The following organizational partners contributed to this effort: American Jewish World Service, Amnesty International USA, Conservative Judaism, Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy, Genocide Intervention Network, Jewish World Watch, the NAACP, Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition, STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition and Union for Reform Judaism.

About the coalition: The Save Darfur Coalition - an alliance of more than 180 faith-based, advocacy and human rights organizations - raises public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and mobilizes a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of people throughout the Darfur region. The coalition's member organizations represent 130 million people of all ages, races, religions and political affiliations united together to help the people of Darfur. For more information on the coalition, please visit www.SaveDarfur.org.