Candidates unite against Darfur genocide

Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and Republican John McCain don't agree on much these days.

But the three presidential hopefuls joined forces for an eye-catching ad to help a nonprofit trying to stop what the United States has declared a genocide in Darfur.

"We stand united and demand that the genocide and violence in Darfur be brought to an end," the ad declares, with their signatures underneath. The ad, which appears in today's New York Times, is on behalf of SaveDarfur.org.

A joint statement on the group's website lays blame on the government of Sudan, which the three say is "chiefly responsible for the violence and is able to end it."

The violence started in 2003, when after ethnic African tribesman rebelled, janjaweed militia backed by the Sudanese government retaliated. The government denies accusations of atrocities, but an estimated 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been displaced.

Advocacy groups have criticized the Bush administration for not doing enough, and the statement makes clear that whoever is the next president will take more action.

"Today, we wish to make clear to the Sudanese government that on this moral issue of tremendous importance, there is no divide between us," the three candidates say. "We stand united and demand that the genocide and violence in Darfur be brought to an end and that the CPA be fully implemented. Even as we campaign for the presidency, we will use our standing as Senators to press for the steps needed to ensure that the United States honors, in practice and in deed, its commitment to the cause of peace and protection of Darfur’s innocent citizenry. We will continue to keep a close watch on events in Sudan and speak out for its marginalized peoples. It would be a huge mistake for the Khartoum regime to think that it will benefit by running out the clock on the Bush Administration. If peace and security for the people of Sudan are not in place when one of us is inaugurated as President on January 20, 2009, we pledge that the next Administration will pursue these goals with unstinting resolve."