Key Rebel Leader Killed, Highlighting Militia Challenge in South Sudan
George Athor, a former senior officer in the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, or SPLA, was killed Monday night in a two-hour firefight with the government forces in Marobo County in Central Equatoria state. Athor was one of the most powerful rebel leaders in South Sudan, but perhaps more than anything, his death draws attention to a major challenge the new country faces: the threat of renegade commanders and the fighters they mobilize ...
Refugees from Blue Nile, Sudan: Civilians Caught in the Middle
“We are civilians,” said Adam, a Blue Nile refugee who had fled his home two months earlier. “We are like children in a family; you don’t make decisions.” Adam was responding to a question posed by Enough about whether he, Boles, and the other men who had gathered, sensed political tensions in their state prior to the outbreak of conflict that drove them from their homes ...
Congo, Industry, Environmental Experts Make Joint Call for Rules on Conflict Minerals
It is no longer a question of should the international community tackle the logistics of cleaning up the supply chain of conflict minerals from eastern Congo, but how to address the crisis through our globalized economy. A panel of leading policy makers, experts from the private sector, and faith leaders echoed this sentiment during an event last week held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C ...
Kabila Sworn In Despite Lack of Legitimacy
Congolese President Joseph Kabila was sworn in today for another five-year term by the Congolese Supreme Court in the capital of Kinshasa, amid high tensions and questions of legitimacy. Irregularities and fraud marred voting day on November 28 and the week-long count, which led a number of electoral observation missions including the Carter Center, the European Union, and the Catholic Church to deem the process unreliable ...
Filling Sudan’s ‘Fiscal Gap:’ A Question of the International Community’s Generosity or of Limiting Khartoum’s Defense Budget?
Late last month, representatives from the Sudanese and South Sudanese governments met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia under the auspices of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel, or AUHIP, for yet another round of negotiations on outstanding North-South issues. Central among these issues are “financial transitional arrangements,” a euphemism for how much money Juba, along with, perhaps, the international community, can pay Khartoum to offset Sudan’s “fiscal gap” resulting from South Sudan’s secession ...
Coalition of Human Rights Groups and Advocates Calls for International Action on Congo Elections
The Enough Project along with a coalition of human rights advocates and conflict analysis NGOs—including Eastern Congo Initiative, Humanity United, International Crisis Group, Open Society Foundations, Eastern Congo Initiative Fellow Anthony W. Gambino, Hoover Institution Visiting Fellow Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, and Congo analyst and author Jason Stearns—released a statement yesterday expressing concern over the lack of response from the U.S. government and other donor nations in dealing with the growing crisis of legitimacy in the Congo over recent elections ...
Sudan: Comprehensive Peace Agreement and South Sudan Independence
This week's post in the series Enough 101 is the second of two posts offering a brief history of Sudan, and covers the time period beginning in 2002 with the Comprehensive Peace Agreeement negotiations through 2011 with the independence of South Sudan ...
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 ...
The End of the LRA? John Prendergast and Experts Discuss the Recent U.S. Deployment and Next Steps
In October, the Obama administration announced the deployment of approximately 100 U.S. military personnel to Central Africa to help end the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA. For those who have advocated for increased efforts to put an end to Joseph Kony and his LRA’s reign of terror, the deployment was a welcomed step in the Obama administration’s implementation of its LRA strategy. However, concerns still linger about the failures of past military operations and peace processes, and the numerous efforts needed to foster peace, stability and justice in the region. To address these concerns, Enough Project Co-Founder John Prendergast joined ...
Coalition Sign-On for International Action on Congo Elections
The undersigned organizations and individuals, are deeply troubled by the lack of critical engagement that the international community has shown throughout the electoral process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
