Senators Join Effort to Urge Obama to Appoint Great Lakes Envoy
When the State Department’s Donald Yamamoto noted recently that the Obama administration was only taking the appointment of a special representative for Africa’s Great Lakes region “under advisement,” during testimony for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, it raised concerns among not just a couple of members of Congress. Sixteen U.S. senators sent a letter to President Obama this week urging him to appoint a special representative, to “make an important statement that [violence in eastern Congo and ongoing LRA atrocities] are a high priority for your Administration.” ...
Mothers in the Path of the Lord’s Resistance Army
This Mother’s Day as we celebrate the wonderful women we call “Mom,” take a moment to remember the mothers whose children have been taken from them by the Lord’s Resistance Army. According to the 2011 State of the World’s Mothers Report, released this week by Save the Children, countries where the LRA operates rank among the very worst in which to be a mother: Sudan, CAR, and the Democratic Republic of Congo all fall within the bottom 10 ...
Actor, Activist Ben Affleck Headlines Congo Hearing on Capitol Hill
Aptly falling on the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, a House subcommittee called a hearing yesterday on what can be done to “secure peace in the midst of tragedy” in Congo ...
California Leads the Way on Conflict Minerals Legislation
On the heels of U.S. Congressional action to address Congo’s conflict minerals, California recently became the first state to consider legislation to regulate companies doing business in Congo ...