Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur

"Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur," the new global "Make Some Noise" project from Amnesty International, seeks to mobilize millions around the urgent catastrophe in Darfur, Sudan. It combines the power of John Lennon's music recorded by some of the world's best-known artists, together with cutting-edge forms of instant activism enabled by Internet and mobile technologies.

The project will call attention to the urgent situation in Darfur where between 2 and 400,000 have died, 2.5 million have been displaced from their homes, and 4.5 million people in Darfur and hundreds of thousands in the neighboring countries of Chad and Central African Republic are at risk of starvation, disease, and further attacks. Yoko Ono generously granted rights to John Lennon's entire solo songbook to Amnesty International, the world's largest grassroots human rights organization, to use as the centerpiece of this project and to inspire and invigorate a new generation of human rights activists.

More than 50 musical artists, including U2,Christina Aguilera, Lenny Kravitz, Green Day, Ben Harper, and Aerosmith, have joined this international effort that combines John Lennon music, technology, and human rights activism. The CD, "Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur," will be released by Warner Brothers Records and arrive in stores the week of June 12th. Additional singles from the album will be released leading up to the full album, along with special product offers coupled with opportunities to take action. Proceeds derived from the entire campaign will go directly to support Amnesty International's urgent work on Darfur and other human rights crises worldwide.

Immediately following the March 12 release of the first single from the album, Amnesty International initiatiated a new series of events in its long-term advocacy on Darfur. More than 3,000 Amnesty International groups took part in the organization's ninth annual National Week of Student Action March 23 - 30; Amnesty International organized rallies and protests on March 30 outside the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, and at Chinese consulates nationwide, in an effort to press the Chinese government to use its considerable influence with the Sudanese government to admit United Nations peacekeepers into Darfur in a joint mission with the African Union; a national call-in week to Congress will take place this week, April 9- 13 at the same time as Amnesty International delegations conduct lobby meetings in Washington DC and Congressional districts across the country. Amnesty International will also mark April 29th, by joining coalition partners in the third Global Day for Darfur.