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.
Turtle Bay blogger Colum Lynch uncovered the somewhat awkward information that the International Criminal Court sent its deputy prosecutor to the inauguration of Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Lynch reports that the ICC sent Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in hopes that she could help convince Rwanda to support the Court, but international justice experts interviewed by Lynch were mixed about whether this was a good idea.
After a fresh round of fighting in Mogadishu, stories of the horror that has befallen the Somali capital are trickling out to refugee camps in the surrounding region. Reporting from Dadaab camp in northeastern Kenya, the AP’s Katherine Houreld conveyed some of the experiences shared by people who recently fled. "This is the worst I have ever seen it," said 74-year-old man. "Before it was just bullets. Now they are launching mortars everywhere."
In a fascinating post on Foreign Policy, Nick Donovan writes about “The War Criminal Next Door”—people accused, or even convicted, of heinous crimes in their home countries who have found refuge abroad. Donovan’s anecdotes of former victims coming across their one-time torturers years later certainly helps justify his larger point: that the international community needs a Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity that requires states to pass legislation to allow for the prosecution or extradition of those suspected of crimes against humanity.
Congo expert Jason Stearns examines a pretty fundamental question that has no doubt been on many of our minds in the days following reports of widespread rapes in eastern Congo. “Are peacekeepers bad at protecting civilians?” Stearns lays out four recommendations for improving MONUSCO’s ability to respond quickly when civilians are in danger and adequately follow-up after an incident to deter further violence.
There have been some initial rumblings about the new strategy put forth by the Sudanese government to deal with Darfur, titled, “Towards a New Strategy for Achieving Comprehensive Peace, Security and Development in Darfur.” On the Making Sense of Sudan blog, Tag Elkhazin wrote a two–part overview and analysis of what the plan entails.