( CNN ) -- A satellite surveillance project spearheaded by actor George Clooney 's organization will monitor violence in Sudan during a January vote that could split the country in two . The program will use satellite images to assess the situation on the ground for any signs of conflict , monitor hotspots in real time and post the findings online , organizers said . The satellites can help capture threats to civilians , keep track of displaced people and inspect razed villages , the organizers said in a statement . `` We want to cast a spotlight -- literally -- on the hotspots along the border to record any actions that might escalate the chances of conflict , '' the statement said . `` We hope that if many eyes are on the potential spoilers , we can all help detect , deter and interdict actions that could lead to a return to deadly violence . '' Clooney said in the statement the program will help avert crime . `` We want to let potential perpetrators of genocide and other war crimes know that we 're watching , the world is watching , '' he said . `` War criminals thrive in the dark . It 's a lot harder to commit mass atrocities in the glare of the media spotlight . '' Humanitarian agencies hope the alert system will prevent human rights violations in a country where attacks in the western Darfur region have killed hundreds of thousands in the past seven years . Not On Our Watch , an organization co-founded by Clooney that focuses on Darfur , is funding the satellite effort . It is collaborating with other groups , including the United Nations , Google and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative , organizers said . The January referendum , which will determine whether southern Sudan will become an independent state , has sparked fears of renewed violence . The vote is part of a 2005 peace agreement that ended two decades of violence between the north and oil-rich south . The conflict led to the deaths of 2 million people , many from starvation . The program , dubbed the Satellite Sentinel Project , launched Wednesday at www.satsentinel.org . The United Nations ' Operational Satellite Applications Programme -- which is part of the effort -- said it is ensuring its `` capabilities for satellite analysis and geographic information '' are utilized to avoid another humanitarian crisis .
The effort will help reduce violence during the upcoming referendum , organizers say . The satellites will monitor the situation on the ground for any signs of conflict . It 's funded by Not Our Watch , co - founded by George Miller .