The Sudanese government is directly responsible for crimes against humanity in its strife-torn western region of Darfur, including the widespread rape of women, Amnesty International charged yesterday in a stinging report.

Refugees from Darfur described a pattern of “systematic and unlawful attacks” against civilians by both a government-sponsored Arab militia and the Sudanese military forces, the international London-based human-rights group said.

Ten years ago, the international community stood by as the Rwandan genocide claimed 800,000 lives. Today, as world leaders remember that human catastrophe with empty expressions of “Never Again,” the people of Sudan face a similar fate. In concert with groups like Africa Action as well as the Congressional Black Caucus, The Nation is sponsoring a petition drive calling on Colin Powell as secretary of state to immediately recognize the genocide occurring in Darfur and organize internationally to bring it to an end. Click here to add your name.

Amnesty is calling for an end to the conflict, better protection of civilians, disarmament of the paramilitaries, trials for those carrying out the attacks, and the establishment of an international commission of inquiry to examine war crimes in Darfur. Click here to find out more about AI’s work on this issue, click here to read Salih Booker and Ann Louise Colgan’s recent Nation editorial for background on Darfur and click here to read Sudan expert Eric Reeves’ Nation magazine article, Rapacious Instincts in Sudan, from the magazine’s June 4, 2001 issue, for a broader look at the country’s political troubles.