DLA Weblog

DLA Publishes Darfur Call for Action

Warfare in western Sudan displaced more than 2 million Sudanese and resulted in world-wide contoversy over extensive reports of atrocities and genocide. Members and friends of the Dartmouth Lawyers Association formed the DLA Darfur Crisis Committee and volunteered their time to prepare a Call for Action just published by the DLA. A copy of the full report can be downloaded free from the DLA website at this link: "Winds of Madness" (Dartmouth Lawyers Association Darfur Crisis Committee 2005).

The report recommends immediate actions by the United Nations and the government of the United States and other world leaders to help alleviate the plight of those displaced from their villages by two years of civil war. It includes several recommendations to Congress and the Bush administation which require immediate attention. The Committee is now exploring whether a class action may be brought on behalf of the displaced Sudanese against the Government of Sudan and commercial enterprises supporting the government.

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A class action was brought in the Southern District of N.Y. in 2001 against the Government of Sudan and a Canadian oil company, Talisman Energy. It sought remedies on behalf of Sudanese in South Sudan injured in the civil war between North and South Sudan which raged for more than 20 years before a comprehensive peace agreement was reached in January 2005. That lawsuit survived numerous motions to dismiss before class certification was denied last month. The DLA's Darfur Crisis Committee is now studying the decision to see whether a stronger case can be made on behalf of displaced Sudanese in the western Sudan region of Darfur.

In the fall of 2004, John Mathias '69 asked Al Moncure '69 to lead a committee focusing on exploring responses to the situation in Darfur and the concept was explored at the DLA Annual Meeting in Hanover, New Hampshire. They formed a cross-disciplinary team of lawyers and military authorities from among DLA members and friends. The Report the committee produced will be sent to the US House and Senate Democratic and Republican leadership, the leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus, members of the Bush adminstration, the United Nations, U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, and a number of non-governmental organizations.

Dartmouth lawyers Al Moncure '69, Dave Muhlitner '62, Ron Weiss '68, and Jim Laughlin '64 were responsible for drafting key sections of the Report. Aaron Brooks '96, Nicole Nelson '93, Wendy Jerkins '91,and Daryl Kessler '91assisted with research and writing. Law students Abby Gordon '98 and Alex Talcott '04 also assisted with research and writing. Fred Cowan '67, the former elected Attorney General of Kentucky, has provided advice about how best to bring the report to the attention of political leaders. Dean Lydia Lazar '81 of Chicago Kent Law School provided updates on the situation on the ground in Darfur and in Congress obtained through her membership in a number of non-governmental organizations. Ron Neal '69, a non lawyer, provided valuable research assistance.

The Dartmouth Lawyers Association is a non-profit association of 1700 individual lawyers who are graduates of Dartmouth College and its affiliated professional schools. Dartmouth does not have a law school, so support of its legal education activities is dependent upon volunteers across the world and at the College. For over 20 years, the DLA has provided financial support and assistance to the educational programs at Dartmouth, the continuing fellowship and professional education of Dartmouth lawyers, publication of a directory of its members and public service. The DLA maintains an online discussion forum in which Dartmouth graduates exchange information about legal jobs open and sought, and publishes a weblog of current reports about its members, programs and relevant activities at Dartmouth College. More information about the Dartmouth Lawyers Association and its activities are available at its website at www.dla.org or through its weblog at www.dla.org/weblog.

Doug Simpson '70
Wethersfield, CT
DLA "Webster"