Jeff Antebi, founder of Waxploitation, says, “With everything else in the news, it’s important to not forget Darfur. When we did our first benefit auction, 70,000 people had already died. Today, the number is estimated to be 300,000.  Almost five million innocent civilians are caught in the middle of this, with nowhere to go.”

This year’s auction features signed gear and music from artists such as Norah Jones, Diplo, Counting Crows, Kid Rock, The Shins, Kylie Minogue, Patti Smith, Madonna, Gnarls Barkley, Wilco, Elvis Costello and many others.

In addition to this year’s celebrity swag, Waxploitation will continue to sell its Causes albums to benefit Darfur as well. The new Causes 2 CD features exlusive tracks from artists such as LCD Soundsystem, The Decemberists, My Morning Jacket, Diplo, Devendra Banhart, and Sharaon Jones & the Dap Kings.

More than 2 million people have fled their homes because of the civil war in Darfur, and at least 4 million are currently in need of humanitarian aid. Though the United States has recognized the conflict in the Sudanese country as genocide–along with many other countries and leaders–the United Nations still maintains that, though mass murder and rape are rampant in the country, the violence does not meet the terms of genocide.

Though the number of casualties in the area vary, as many as 200,000 to 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

To learn more or to get involved with the auction, visit Waxploitation’s eBay auction page.

In hopes of spreading awareness and education, the site hosting the live footage also has a live chat available, as well as social networking tools to share the event and its message. Other pre-recorded videos, some featuring U.N. Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie, are also available.

There are also texting options for users taking part, including an opportunity to make a $5 donation using a cell phone.

From 9 AM to 9 PM Eastern Time, site visitors will be able to see a glimpse into the world of  refugees receiving aid in Chad, Colombia, Pakistan and Iraq.

The camp in Djabal, Chad is the temporary home to more than 250,000 people displaced from the genocide in Darfur.

“Whether it be from Darfur, Myanmar or the Swat Valley, or some as yet unknown crisis, mass migrations will be a feature of our future. We must look beyond the simple numbers and instead at the individual,” says Jolie, touching on this year’s theme, “Real People, Real Needs.”

Indeed, while the word “refugee” may sound so foreign, any one of us could become one at a moment’s notice; just ask any survivor of Hurricane Katrina. The U.N. estimates that there are over 40 million refugees displaced from their homes right now, 80% of whom are in developing countries.

To learn more or to participate in today’s extraordinary event of global solidarity, click here.

And now, following the declaration of “peace” that was made in May, Sri Lanka has been added to this list.

While the country recently declared a “victory” over the Tamil Tigers who rebelled against the government, the acknowledgment of Sri Lanka’s actions as genocide against the Tamil people has been rapidly coming to light globally.

The declaration of peace was immediately met with some skepticism when humanitarian workers were unable to deliver much needed aid and supplies to the displaced Tamil people; and now, though officials are denying it, the country is being accused of firing at hospitals during the civil war that lasted nearly three decades.

During a visit to Dresden, Germany and the former Nazi concentration camp, Buchenwald, today, President Obama said that it is up to other nations to help stop genocide when a country is danger from its own government.

“The international community has an obligation, even when it’s inconvenient, to act when genocide is occurring,” he said, responding to reporters who inquired as to how “never again” might apply to the situations in Darfur and Sri Lanka today.

He said that the United States is currently working to stop the genocide in Darfur, even as Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir refuses to allow humanitarian aid into the country.

Though the president’s words were necessary and true, it is also true that words alone cannot stop genocide from happening. We can hope that President Obama’s words have not fallen on deaf ears, and that the international community–including the United States–collectively takes a stand and says together, “Never again,” this time, with an intent to make it so.