SUDAN:Hundreds of demonstrators set off rape alarms outside Downing Street yesterday in a protest against sexual violence in Darfur.
About 200 protesters marched from the Sudanese embassy in central London to No 10 before delivering a formal letter to the Government calling for political pressure to stop the crisis.
The event was part of International Human Rights Day, which has this year been adopted by campaigners as a day of action to demand peace in Darfur. Human rights groups around the world are calling for the immediate deployment of an international peacekeeping force with a mandate to protect civilians.
Amnesty International, one of the organisers of the protest, said the formal letter delivered to Prime Minister Tony Blair reminded him there was widespread impunity for rape in Darfur. Spokeswoman Sarah Green said there had been "horrific" levels of sexual violence against women and girls over the three years since the crisis began.
Body Shop founder and entrepreneur Anita Roddick, who protested outside Downing Street today, said: "Rape is not an inevitable part of war. It can be stopped if military leaders, governments and the international community make clear that it will be punished as severely as any other war crime."
The demonstration included the Mothers' Union, the Women's Institute, and the National Union of Students.
Mr Blair said yesterday that "appalling" human rights violations had been committed in Darfur, particularly against women and young girls, who have suffered regular rape and sexual violence.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said the international community has to wake up to the reality of rape, murder and destruction in Darfur.
Marking the international day for the southwestern Sudanese region, he called for a ceasefire, effective peacekeeping and a credible political process.
"Darfur is the single greatest test of mankind's determination to prevent mass murder and protect human rights today," said Mr Ahern.
"We failed that test before in Bosnia, and in Rwanda. Today, we are staring failure in the face once again. In the wake of the holocaust, we founded the UN on two simple words - 'never again'. Now we watch impotently as hundreds of thousands are killed, as rape is used daily as a weapon of war."
Mr Ahern will highlight the issue at a meeting of 25 foreign ministers of the European Union in Brussels today.