Displacement

Maryland’s legislation addressing the use of conflict minerals from eastern Congo in electronics products breezed through an important hurdle over the weekend, passing the House of Delegates unanimously on Saturday. The State Senate passed a similar bill by a vote of 46-0 two weeks earlier, leaving only a largely procedural reconciliation process between the House and Senate bills before a final version is sent to Governor Martin O’Malley’s desk.  Read More »

Within the last two weeks, signs of progress have emerged from the two Sudans. In the context of tense negotiations between Khartoum and Juba, the developments are noteworthy but should be met with cautious optimism and vigilance by the international community.  Read More »

Following last Wednesday’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing at which George Clooney and John Prendergast testified about their recent trip to the Nuba Mountains, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a resolution calling on the Sudanese government and the SPLM-North to cease hostilities and find a political solution to the conflict ongoing since June 2011.  Read More »

The Rt. Rev. Andudu Adam Elnail, a Nuban community leader who goes by Bishop Andudu, serves as the Anglican Bishop of Kadugli, the capital of the conflict-torn region of South Kordofan, Sudan. He recently responded to questions on Clooney's capacity to focus the attention of worldwide media and senior policymakers in Washington, D.C., on the plight of the Nuba people of South Kordofan and Blue Nile who face a campaign of indiscriminate bombardment and starvation by the Sudanese government.  Read More »

Freelance journalist David Axe and artist Tim Hamilton have teamed up to create a non-fiction graphic novel that highlights the impact of the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the countries where the group currently operates. Their collaboration, “Army of God,” specifically depicts the crisis which the LRA has brought upon civilians living in remote areas of the northeastern provinces by highlighting the stories of individuals who have witnessed LRA violence.  Read More »

As part of swell in attention to the ongoing crisis in the Nuba Mountains from Sudan seasoned advocates in Congress, U.S. Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) delivered a speech on the House floor yesterday calling on the U.S. government to increase efforts to address the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the embattled state of South Kordofan.  Read More »

Three months following a devastating attack in Jonglei in December, the South Sudan government has launched a number of initiatives that, without recalibration, will fall short of achieving the intended goal of securing sustained peace in the state.  Read More »

Thomas Lubanga, the former leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots, or UPC, was convicted by the International Criminal Court last week for the conscription and use of child soldiers during the Ituri civil war from 2002 to 2003 in Congo’s Orientale province. The three-year long trial—the ICC’s first—garnered attention in eastern Congo not only because the region was the scene of Lubanga’s crimes but also because there are a handful of other rebel leaders who should face a similar fate.  Read More »

The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade is now considering legislation that would expand the Rewards for Justice Program to bolster efforts to arrest the most wanted international criminals, including longtime leader of Lord’s Resistance Army Joseph Kony.  Read More »

A weekly round-up of must-read stories, posted every Friday.  Read More »