Clooney: Obama has kept campaign promises on Sudan

Actor and activist George Clooney said Sunday that President Obama has kept his campaign promises to end genocide and get tough with the government in Sudan.

Clooney appeared on ABC's "This Week" to talk about continuing crisis in the African nation as the country faces a heated secession referendum a week from now.

When asked if Obama has kept his vows to tackle issues in the war-torn nation, Clooney said, "Yes, he has."

"It's a tough one to keep, you know?" he said. "There's — it's a very complicated situation. It is going to get a lot more complicated. We met with the president. The president seems to be very much on top of the issue.

"And we want to make sure — and our job is to keep the pressure on to make sure that — that there's no slippage in that at all," Clooney added.

Clooney's partner in Sudan efforts, John Prendergast of the Enough Project in Washington, said it was "President Obama's moment."

"You know, the United States is the biggest actor in Sudan," Prendergast said. "We can have a major influence on whether or not a deal is struck between the North and the South to prevent a war, and we can have a major influence on whether human rights violations continue in Darfur. That's going to take presidential leadership." 

Members of the congressional Sucan Caucus have expressed concern that a lack of administration involvement in the heated referendum that gives the Christian south the opportunity to split from the Musilm north could send the region spiraling into fresh violence.

"He's become engaged now," Prendergast said of Obama. "We'll see if he can bring it that last mile."