Photo Exhibit of Refugees and Press Conference Push Congress for Action on Sudan
In the foyer of the Rayburn Congressional Office Building on December 14th the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, or USCIRF, sponsored a press conference and photo exhibition where two prominent representatives in the Sudan caucus, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Rep. Frank Wolfe (R-VA), advocated passionately for the human rights of the Sudanese people while photos of refugees at Yida refugee camp who fled Blue Nile and South Kordofan states were on prominent display ...
Bashir Names New Cabinet, Keeps Suspected War Criminal Hussein as Defense Minister
In the latest apparent ploy to defy the International Criminal Court, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir kept First Lieutenant-General Abdelrahim Mohammed Hussein on board as defense minister this week while shuffling his cabinet around to include more opposition parties. He kept the most powerful posts under his ruling National Congress Party, or NCP, including finance, oil, foreign affairs, and interior in addition to defense ...
Greenpeace Teams Up with Enough for Conflict Minerals Standards
Just in time for the holidays, Greenpeace has released its 2011 Guide to Greener Electronics. This annual report serves as consumer guide for 15 leading global electronics companies and ranks each company on its energy use and emissions, green products, and sustainable operations. This year HP ranked first on the Greenpeace scale by a fairly significant margin, while RIM brought up the rear with a score of only 1.6 out of 10 ...
Congo Report: Elections Present Opportunity for Conflict Minerals Reform
This month's elections in Congo come on the heels of legislation signed by President Barack Obama in July 2010 addressing one of the conflict's main drivers: conflict minerals. By initiating reforms, not only could the Congolese government boost public opinion in the East prior to the elections, but perhaps most importantly prevent outbreaks of violence at a particularly volatile moment. A new paper by the Enough Project outlines how ...
Rights Groups: Congo Election is ‘Ultimate Test’
With elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo now less than a month away, rising political tension is increasingly leading to violence between police and opposition forces. A recent joint statement signed by 41 human rights groups, including the Enough Project, warned of imminent destabilization caused by the polls and urged the U.N. mission in Congo to prepare to deploy its rapid reaction force to secure the violent areas ...
U.S. Officials Offer Details on LRA Military Advisors
The House Committee on Foreign Affairs last week called a rare full committee hearing to discuss President Obama’s recent deployment of U.S. military advisors to assist in the effort to end the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA. The president’s decision, heralded by rights groups as a positive step toward finally ending LRA atrocities in Central Africa, drew initial criticism from some members of Congress over the authorization of the advisors. Some new details about the deployment emerged from the hearing ...