On the eve of the Olympics, a Jewish women’s group is urging China to rethink its support of Sudan.
“China has an extraordinary opportunity to address the human rights issues that have tarnished its image,” the National Council of Jewish Women board of directors said in a statement released last week.
The organization singled out China’s support of the government of Sudan and its actions in Darfur, where as many as 400,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced from their homes.
“As Sudan’s biggest investor, arms supplier and economic partner, China is supporting and subsidizing the military’s actions in Darfur,” the statement said. “But perhaps more distressing is China’s ongoing obstruction in the United Nations that has kept that world body from taking strong action against Sudan and deploying a U.N. peacekeeping mission despite the fact that such a move was authorized in 2006.
“NCJW urges China to use its influence with Sudan to bring an end to the genocide in Darfur — a move that would help position China in a more favorable light in regard to human rights on the eve of the 2008 Olympics.â€
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