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WHEREAS, the Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition (PDEC) is hosting its Seventh Annual Luncheon and Forum on the Problems of Sudan and South Sudan, this year on Sunday, October 13, 2019, from 1:30-4:00 PM at East Liberty Presbyterian Church, cosponsored by the International Partnership of the Pittsburgh Presbytery; and,
WHEREAS, Pittsburgh is home to many refugee families and individuals from Sudan and South Sudan. These new citizens continue to hope for the peace and prosperity of their country of origin while contributing to life here in the City of Pittsburgh; and,
WHEREAS, Pittsburghers and City Council particularly have historically supported U.S. engagement through diplomatic efforts to bring about peace with justice in the two Sudans; and
WHEREAS, mass street protests in Sudan recently succeeded at great cost of life in overthrowing accused genocide perpetrator Omar al Bashir and setting in motion an agreement to bring about a transition to civilian rule; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. State Department has appointed Ambassador Donald Booth as Special Envoy to work in support of those goals; and,
WHEREAS, the City of Pittsburgh salutes the courage and overwhelmingly non-violent methods of the civilian opposition in Sudan and applauds the engagement of the U.S. State Department and Special Envoy Booth in conjunction with international partners to advance the program of peaceful transition to civilian rule; and,
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby commend the Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition (PDEC) for organizing rallies, marches, petitions and letter-writing campaigns, and bringing issues of human rights concerns before Council and the community for over 15 years; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare, Sunday, October 13, 2019 to be “Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition Day” in the City of Pittsburgh.