Nobel Women's Initiative

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

African civil society leaders, Nobel Laureates, and justice experts from across the 
continent are uniting ahead of the African Union summit, to call for action on the crisis in 
Sudan.  In particular, the leaders are supporting the work of the International Criminal 
Court (ICC), and calling for humanitarian access. 

The statement, signed by Nobel Laureates Wangari Maathai (Peace, 2004), Archbishop 
Desmond Tutu (Peace, 1984), and Wole Soyinka (Literature, 1986), as well as 39 other 
prominent African experts, emphasizes that the ICC plays a critical role in achieving the 
objectives of “justice and accountability for the peoples of Sudan.”  

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“The people of Darfur deserve more than negotiating warlords forgiving  
each other for the violence – including brutal sexual violence – they have  
perpetrated primarily against women, children and other non-combatants.” 

The signatories call for accountability and urge African political leaders to dramatically 
step up efforts to negotiate an end to the violence in Darfur, and ensure that all parties to 
the conflict, including the government, armed groups, and especially women who have 
been building the path to peace, are at the peace table. 

The statement comes on the heels of an Opinion Editorial piece penned by Maathai, 
Soyinka, and Archbishop Tutu, which was published in Jeune Afrique and other African 
media. 


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For more information: 

Kimberley MacKenzie 
Program Associate, Advocacy & Communications 
Nobel Women’s Initiative 
+613.569.8400 x 114 
kmackenzie AT nobelwomensinitiative.org