Polls & Research

Americans Want Action to Stop Sudan Genocide

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the United States think their government should become involved in Sudan, according to a poll by Princeton Survey Research Associates for the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. 51 per cent of respondents think the U.S. has a responsibility to do something about the ethnic genocide in the Darfur region.

In addition, 53 per cent of respondents would favour the use of U.S. troops in Darfur as part of a multinational force to help end the violence.

In March, U.S. state secretary Condoleezza Rice referred to the situation in Sudan's Darfur region as "genocide." A report conducted by the U.S.-based Physicians for Human Rights claims that 400,000 people have died in the area since 2003.

Sudan has been ravaged by food shortages and deadly attacks in the Darfur region, where two black African armed groups—the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)—are fighting the mainly Arab central administration and pro-government militias known as Janjaweed. The conflict has led to the deaths of at least 70,000 people, and the displacement of more than 1 million inhabitants.

On Dec. 21, United Nations (UN) high commissioner for refugees Antonio Guterres discussed the current state of affairs in Darfur, saying, "If the security situation deteriorates, we will have a very serious problem. That is why a solution to the Darfur problem is necessary for the stability of the whole region."

Polling Data

Do you think the United States has a responsibility to do something about the ethnic genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, or doesn't the United States have this responsibility?

Would you favour or oppose the use of U.S. troops in the Darfur region of Sudan as part of a multinational force to help end the ethnic genocide there?