With more than 2 million people driven from their homes, Darfur has been described as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.  Now, the government of Sudan has ordered the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and other aid groups to shut down their life-saving programs — putting the men, women and children of Darfur at even greater risk.
Take action for Darfur refugees— and please help spread the word!
P.S. You can keep up with developments on our new Twitter feed: twitter.com/theIRC

Straight out of Baghdad:  Forced by extremist death threats to split up and flee Iraq, the members of "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" band Acrassicauda dreamed of "rocking out in the land of the free." The IRC brought the musicians back together to make some noise in their new home near New York City.

Acrassicauda's story  -- and how you can help Iraqi refugees

The band and the IRC in the New York Times

Check out Acrassicauda on MySpace

The IRC is scaling up emergency humanitarian response in the North Kivu province of eastern Congo after recent violence displaced an estimated 250,000 people. Special report and how to help > 

In Iraq, 60,000 people flee violence every month, mostly to neighboring Jordan and Syria.  Women, men, and their young children – fearing deportation – are living in hiding.  

They desperately need food, medicine, education, jobs and a safe place to live.

The IRC is on the ground providing lifesaving relief.  YOU can help.
 
For each person who signs the IRC Iraq Humanitarian Pledge, $1 will be donated to provide additional emergency services to Iraqis in need by one of our supporters.

Help us reach our 60,000 signature goal.  Please sign our pledge

Photo from Myanmar by Gordon Bacon, who's coordinating the International Rescue Committee's emergency response to the cyclone disaster.

The IRC is accepting contributions to support our emergency relief programs and long-term recovery assistance in Myanmar.

To learn more and help: www.theIRC.org/myanmar

Blog from Myanmar: blog.theirc.org/tag/burma/ 

Iraqi civilians are the battleground in a crisis that gets worse every day. Five years into the conflict, more than 4 million innocent bystanders are uprooted and in dire need of help, yet the response has been grossly inadequate. A new IRC Commission report spotlights their plight and ways the international community should respond. Special Report >

Photo: Ann Jones

Women and girls are raped systematically, every day, in every conflict, in every region, across the world. The International Rescue Committee needs your help in the long-standing fight against sexual violence against women and girls as a weapon of war.

Thank you for your efforts to give a voice to victims of violence! Write to the presidency of the European Union at:
www.theIRC.org/endviolenceagainstwomen

In honor of International Women's Day on March 8, and in order to end violence against women and girls around the world, please ask Congress to support the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA) today.

1. If you live anywhere in the United States, you can contact your Senators and Representatives by clicking here: http://ga3.org/campaign/End_Violence_Against_Women

2. If you live in the following states, please call your Senator before Friday, March 14, and ask him or her to cosponsor I-VAWA, S.2279:

Target States:  AK, ID, ME, MN, NC, NE, NH, OH, OR, PA, SC, TX, UT, WY

It is important to have Democratic and Republican co-sponsors to make this a truly bipartisan effort.  You can contact your Senator by calling the Senate Switchboard at 202/224-3121 and asking to be connected directly to his or her Senate office. When you reach your Senator's office, you can use these suggested talking points:

• The International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA) will help to coordinate and improve U.S. government efforts to stop the global crisis of violence against women and girls.

• Violence against women is an enormous human rights problem around the world.  It takes many forms, including rape, domestic violence, acid burning, dowry deaths, "honor killings," and more.  Experts estimate that up to one in three women globally will be beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in their lifetimes, with rates reaching 70 percent in some countries.

• I-VAWA is designed to give victims of violence more assistance, to hold perpetrators accountable, and to speak out against this violence.

• I-VAWA integrates efforts to end violence against women and girls into already existing U.S. foreign assistance programs and puts a special emphasis on supporting the overseas women's groups that work every day to stop violence.

• I-VAWA enables the U.S. Government to develop a faster and more effective response to violence against women during armed conflicts and humanitarian emergencies.

• Passing I-VAWA will help support economic progress and stability in 10-to-20 poor and middle-income countries.  And it is essential if the United States. is to take a more coordinated and effective stand against violence that harms so many women and girls worldwide.

Thank you for taking action to end violence against women!

Conflict and humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo have taken 5.4 million lives since 1998, according to a survey just released by the International Rescue Committee. That's equivalent to the entire population of Denmark or the state of Colorado perishing within a decade. In fact, it's the greatest loss of life in any conflict since World War II — and the numbers keep rising. 

Last summer, IRC survey teams traveled across the vast country — by motorbike, canoe, 4-wheel-drive, and on foot — to research death in order to save lives. They visited 48,000 homes, talking to people about loved ones they lost: not just to violence, but to illnesses that no one dies from in the United States these days. People who died simply because they couldn't access basic health care.

Dr. Rick Brennan, who conducted the study and manages the IRC's health programs in more than 20 countries, hopes the research will raise awareness of this "forgotten" crisis and help people understand the dire circumstances of life in Congo. "We want people to give a damn," he says.

To learn about how the IRC helps in Congo, visit theIRC.org/congocrisis.