Jon S. Corzine: “Senator Brownback and I have submitted a resolution to designate July 15-17, 2005 as a National Weekend of Prayer and…”

“Senator Brownback and I have submitted a resolution to designate July 15-17, 2005 as a National Weekend of Prayer and Reflection to draw attention to the genocide and Crimes Against Humanity occurring in Darfur, Sudan, and to find a solution to this great moral challenge. The resolution calls upon the people of the United States to pray and reflect. Churches, synagogues, mosques, other communities of faith, and all individuals of compassion will join together to acknowledge, observe, and reflect upon the crimes against humanity that continue to occur in Darfur, so that we can together end the genocide and bring about lasting peace to Sudan. The Congress and administration have already defined the atrocities in Darfur as genocide. Estimates of the death toll range from 180,000 to 400,000. More than two million people have been displaced from their homes, including over 200,000 refugees in Chad. Recent accounts of these atrocities, as reported by Doctors without Borders, include documented rapes by soldiers and government-backed militia. Many religious and human rights leaders, communities, and institutions throughout the world have already spoken out, and called for an end to the genocide. In my own state, thousands participated in a Darfur Sabbath Weekend on May 14-15, 2005, when clergy and congregations throughout New Jersey addressed this crisis during their worship services.…”