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Author: John Prendergast

To Obama in China: Don’t Shy Away From Sudan, Congo

To Obama in China: Don’t Shy Away From Sudan, Congo
President Obama has a huge opportunity to advance two of the most important peace and human rights causes on the continent of Africa during his meetings with Chinese officials this week ...

Feeling the Heat, Bashir Cancels Turkey Trip

Feeling the Heat, Bashir Cancels Turkey Trip
The European Union stood on principle against war crimes in Sudan, and the result is that President Bashir decided not to go to Turkey to attend the summit ...

Will Obama Finally Pay Attention to Sudan?

Some of the Obama administration's recent lowlights have included public and private rhetoric favoring incentives over pressure, talk of lifting longstanding sanctions without demanding anything in return, and a disconcerting lack of emphasis on the need to hold this heinous regime accountable for what this and the previous U.S. administration have declared genocide ...

Sudan Policy: The Urgency of Implementation

Sudan Policy: The Urgency of Implementation
The ideals spelled out in the Obama administration’s new paper on U.S. policy to Sudan are worthy of considerable support. The policy review represents a great deal of work inside the administration to learn lessons from past policy, to correct missteps of the administration over the past seven months, and to find a balanced approach that integrates peace, protection and accountability ...

Sudan’s State-Sponsored Pyromania

Sudan's State-Sponsored Pyromania
The Khmer Rouge's Pol Pot had hundreds of thousands of people dig their own mass graves before they were beaten to death in Cambodia's killing fields. Rwanda's Interahamwe militias used machetes to kill 800,000 people in 100 days. Now, another low-tech, clandestine approach to orchestrating mass atrocities is being perfected by the ruling National Congress Party, or NCP, in Sudan. No need for shovels or machetes when you have a box of matches ...

U.S. Sudan Policy – The Fierce Urgency of Implementation

U.S. Sudan Policy - The Fierce Urgency of Implementation
The U.S. must lead in developing a coalition of countries that can help the people of Sudan find a just and sustainable peace, and the administration will be rightly evaluated by whether it meets the goals and terms it has set for its own diplomatic efforts ...

Students Growing the Movement for Sudan and Congo

Students Growing the Movement for Sudan and Congo
Although their loyalties may be divided when it comes to hockey, it was amazing to see how united the student bodies of Miami of Ohio and Boston University are in their activism around ending the suffering of people in Sudan and Congo ...

Preventing More “War Children”

Preventing More "War Children"
Last week we had the opportunity to gather a few hundred people at the U.S. Capitol to watch "War Child," a film about former child soldier Emmanuel Jal from southern Sudan, which sparked an engaging discussion about the danger the region faces if there isn’t a major diplomatic intervention to prevent a return to full-scale war ...

Conversation between Photography and Policy

Conversation between Photography and Policy
Photos (and other multimedia) can provide a powerful catalyst for change. When combined with clear context and actions, they can focus people on the essential elements of a crisis or human drama and create an avenue for connecting the viewer to the solution, empowering us to act in solidarity ...

Building a Movement to Help End Rape in Congo

Building a Movement to Help End Rape in Congo
I recently had the chance to go to Asheville, North Carolina, to co-present with actress Andie MacDowell a screening of the film, "The Greatest Silence," which addresses the scourge of sexual violence in the Congo. What I found in Asheville was a community of committed people who are building a mini-movement for Congolese women right there in North Carolina ...