Here at Enough, we often swap emails with interesting articles and feature stories that we come across in our favorite publications and on our favorite websites. We wanted to share some of these stories with you as part of our effort to keep you up to date on what you need to know in the world of anti-genocide and crimes against humanity work.
- A Foreign Policy Q&A with Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the U.N. secretary-general’s representative in Somalia, paints a hopeful picture of the potential for Somalia to emerge from its current dysfunctional state. As the events of this week demonstrate – from reports of Somali-Americans being trained by Somali radical groups to the ongoing hostage situation in a pirate’s lifeboat – it’s clear that what happens in Somalia emanates far beyond the East African country’s borders. The U.N.’s top diplomat in Mogadishu is hopeful that the Obama administration will emerge from its country policy review with renewed interest in engaging Somalia.
- While much attention has been placed on the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Darfur, The Economist recaps recent violence in South Sudan and rightly highlights the very fragile nature of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
- On the week we launched our “conflict minerals” initiative, focusing on how minerals from Congo end up in our most precious electronic devices, this BBC story explores the relationship from “rebel-held Congo to beer can.” The story takes a look at one of the primary culprits of this largely illegitimate minerals trade: the FDLR, the rebel group whose leadership was involved in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.
- This week marked the 15th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, where the call for a renewed commitment to prevention of mass violence was a common theme. The first story we wanted to highlight – a podcast by PRI’s Jeb Sharp – begins with the powerful words spoken by U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice at the commemoration ceremony in New York. Ambassador Rice was director of the National Security Council for the Clinton administration and, on this occasion, spoke about the tragedy of 1994 from a uniquely familiar position. Sharp also provides a moving account of her own visit to a genocide memorial in Rwanda and conversation with the caretaker of the site, who is a survivor of the massacre.
- On Rwanda, we were also impressed by this article in the Christian Science Monitor, which looked at the legacy of international justice that the 1994 genocide calls to mind. (Don’t miss the quote from our own John Prendergast.) Reporter Scott Baldauf examines the state of international justice 15 years on, asking, “Out of 800,000 deaths emerged a new system of justice and more peacekeepers. But will either prove effective or enduring?”
The Enough Team contributed to this post.