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Act Now - A Duty to Protect

Act Now

Email your Congress member and urge him/her to support the International Criminal Court. Currently this Act Now is available to citizens of the United States only.

Background

“A Duty To Protect" tells the stories of Mafille and January, two girls who were recruited into the military at thirteen and ten years of age respectively. Mafille is a demobilized girl soldier whose experience of violence and sexual exploitation cause her deep psychological scars. In addition to having suffered during the year and a half she spent in the military, Mafille also recounts the stigma she has faced upon returning to civilian life and the constraints in seeking medical attention due to a lack of financial resources. January is a girl soldier whose bravado veils her suffering and whose character and perceptions personify the complexity of the conflict and local perceptions. In this unique portrayal of child soldiers, “A Duty To Protect” also looks at the effects of the recruitment and use of child soldiers on their families and the broader community, concluding that the people of Eastern DRC wish for peace and justice in their region.

To read more about this campaign and watch the Rights Alert video, click here.

What you can do

Urge your Congressional representatives to support the ICC and to call on President Bush to re-sign the Rome Statute:
1. Email your Congressional representatives through our website. Click here to email your representatives.
2. Call your member of Congress at the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your member of Congress.
3. Host a video screening and get others to write or call their Congressional representatives. Order a copy of "A Duty To Protect" at the WITNESS Store and invite others to learn more how to get involved in a solution to the issue of child soldiers in the DRC. Have sample letters directed to your Congressional representatives ready for them to sign and mail off.

For more information on this issue, visit the following websites:

Watchlist's Report on the DRC
Coalition for the International Criminal Court
Citizens for Global Solutions