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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.
With Sudan's threat to close two oil pipelines with South Sudan by August 7 looming, Reuters reports that the African Union has asked for a deadline extension. Sudan's reasoning is that Juba is refusing to end cross-border support to rebels. South Sudan, however, continues to deny the accusation.
In an incredibly revealing op-ed published by the New York Times, Nicholas Kristof documents the atrocity that continues to plague Darfur, despite the lack of media attention. Darfur is the final visit for Kristoff and Erin Luhmann, who won the opportunity in Kristof's annual win-a-trip, and they hope to renew the public's attention to the slaughter of innocent people. In a call to action Kristof says,
"There are no easy solutions when a government commits serial atrocities. But there are steps that the United States and other countries can take — including speaking out much more forcefully — that raise the cost to Sudan for this kind of behavior."
On the same day President Obama pledged $10 million for a Wildlife Trafficking Taskforce to end the poaching that is wiping out Africa's elephants, former US defense attache in Nairobi was convicted of ivory smuggling. The Times of London explains that though he was arrested with 21 pieces of carved elephant tusks, which can sell for upwards of $5300 USD per kg, the horribly outdated wildlife law in Kenya meant that he walked away paying only $300 USD.
On Tuesday, July 23, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir not only fired his Vice President Riek Machar but dissolved South Sudan's entire government. The Christian Science Monitor published a blog by Lesley Anne Warner to shed some light on this drastic decision completely out of sync with the rest of President Kiir's leadership. Warner notes Kiir's position of balancing of maintaining control while trying to neutralize rebels. She points out some of the positives and negatives of this position,
"Conciliation and compromise on the part of Kiir led to him bringing former adversaries into the SPLM/A fold – into his large tent, as the report describes it. Viewed positively, these characteristics led to the signing of the 2006 Juba Declaration, which neutralized the threat armed groups posed to the government of South Sudan in the immediate aftermath of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Viewed negatively, Salva’s need for consensus coupled with the weakness of his government meant that he could, until recently, only pay lip service to tackling massive corruption within his government, lest his allies and former adversaries turn against him."
A United Nations Security Council meeting on Thursday, July 25, centered around the urgency for an end to foreign support for rebel forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Earlier this week, US Department of State called Rwanda out for supporting the M23 rebels that have recently renewed violence around Goma. Secretary of State John Kerry was careful not repeat the accusation in the meeting while demanding that all parties revoke support for armed rebel groups. Global Post notes that each of the 15 nations that makes up the Security Council echoed Kerry's statement, including Rwanda, without ever directly pointing to Rwanda.