Dear Mr. John Baird,

We are students at Saint-Luc secondary school and we have been learning about genocides. Many genocides could have been prevented before they got out of hand. For example, during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, 800,000 Tutsis were massacred for their ethnicity while Canada stood idly by. We believe that Canada should have done more to limit or prevent these genocides from occurring. we have written you this letter to inform you about a genocide that is currently occurring in Darfur.

As you read this letter, there are thousands of people fighting for survival in Darfur. Already, 2.7 million Darfurian civilians have fled their homes and about 400,000 people have died. Displaced civilians who leave refugee camps to find water or firewood essential to their survival are often murdered or rapes by patrolling Janjaweed units.

Mr. Baird, as you may know, genocide consists of 8 stages - classification, symbolization, dehumanization, organization, polarization, preparation, extermination and denial. Darfur has already reached the 7th stage of genocide - extermination - and Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, has already denied that any targeted killings have taken place.

As Secondary school students, we cannot do much to help. That is why we are imploring you to use whatever power you have to take action. You could use the medial to inform others of the situation in Darfur and on what they can do to take action against genocide. You could send medicine, water and solar ovens to refugee camps so that refugees do not have to risk their lives outside of the camps as often. You could grant a certain number of Darfurians refugee status in Canada. You could support increased aid to foundations that focus on access to education and health for refugees. Moreover, you could discuss these issues with other nations' Ministers of Foreign Affairs (or their equivalents) to figure out how to end the genocide.

The 5th Article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states, "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." We can only assume that you believe - as we do -that Darfurians are included in that statement. We know that you alone cannot stop it, but as the Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, you have much more influence than we do to make things right. We genuinely hope you will do your part to take action against the Darfur genocide, as we wish for an end to genocide in our generation.

Sincerely,

- Secondary 3 students of Saint-Luc secondary school, Montreal, Quebec

PS: In the comments, please include your City and if you can, a picture of your signature. We at Saint-Luc thank you very much for taking time out of your day for helping our cause.