Some of the biggest names in music have come together to raise money and awareness for Amnesty International's human rights work, with an emphasis on the Darfur crisis. Tendai Maphosa has more in this report for VOA from London.
U2, R.E.M, Ben Harper, Green Day, Jack Johnson and Youssou N'Dour are among the solo artists and groups that contributed to a 38-track online album of music written by John Lennon.
The album is called Instant Karma: The International Campaign to Save Darfur. Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, donated all music publishing rights to Amnesty International. Ono is quoted on the Amnesty International news release as saying her late husband's music aimed to inspire change.
Amnesty International spokeswoman Vanessa Moss told VOA 67 solo artists and groups recorded their interpretations of Lennon's songs, and they did it for free.
The global release of the music on iTunes and a CD in North America are timed to coincide with the launch of an online petition, which Amnesty is calling "Make Some Noise."
The petition calls on Sudan's government to allow the immediate deployment of a joint African Union, U.N. peacekeeping force in Darfur, to stop indiscriminate bombings of villages, to enforce the United Nations arms embargo, and to disarm the Janjaweed militia.
Moss says the online petition is also meant to maintain pressure on the Sudanese government.
"What Amnesty International will do with the global petition, hopefully to gain as many signatures as we can, if not hundreds of thousands of signatures to present to the government of Sudan that they feel the pressure of the international community to really make a difference," she explained.
The petition is at www.amnesty.org/noise and the tracks can be downloaded from the same site.
