Congolese Leader Jacques Bahati Reports on the Importance of the SEC Rules for Congolese Miners
Congolese leader Jacques Bahati of the Africa Faith and Justice Network recently returned from a visit to mining communities in eastern Congo and published an interesting report on his findings. The visit concluded that while the SEC continues to delay its decision on the Dodd Frank section 1502 for conflict mineral reform, people in Congo are left hanging in a state of ambiguity ...
Satellites, Social Networking, and Arms Control
“Today, any event, anywhere on the planet, could be broadcast globally in seconds,” stated Acting Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller in an address delivered to a group of students in Moscow recently. She cited the Satellite Sentinel Project, or SSP, as an example of the future of monitoring mechanisms. “The neighborhood gaze is a powerful tool, and it can help us make sure that countries are following the rules of arms control treaties and agreements,” Gottemoeller said ...
Video Captures Wanted Sudanese War Criminal Inciting Soldiers to Commit Abuses
With 42 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity already alleged to his name, South Kordofan governor Ahmed Haroun was recently captured on camera inciting Sudan Armed Forces, or SAF, soldiers to commit war crimes in the ongoing hostilities with the rebel Sudanese People’s Liberation Army-North, or SPLA-North. A spokesman for the Sudanese government said Haroun’s remarks were “not interpreted correctly” and that the governor was “not ordering the soldiers to kill civilians but to kill rebels.” But even this attempt to rationalize Haroun’s comments does not absolve the South Kordofan governor of the allegation that he could be ...
European Leaders Boost Efforts to Help End Trade in Congo’s Conflict Minerals – Urge Them to Do More
Taking a cue from American legislation aimed at de-incentivizing dealings in conflict minerals from eastern Congo, European leaders are now pushing for the adoption of due diligence guidelines to regulate electronics companies peddling products that may contain conflict minerals. The Canadian and U.K.-based Centre for African Development and Security is encouraging that trend and, with its new petition, calling on European leaders to do more. Guest blogger and CADS co-founder Greg Queyranne describes the effort ...
African Union Launches Initiative Against LRA but Key Questions Remain
t a ceremony held in Juba several days ago, the African Union officially launched the implementation of its initiative against the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, including an A.U. military task force. However, several key details about the military task force remain unclear, raising concerns that it will essentially put a new name on current efforts by the regional governments that have been largely failing ...
Two Sudans on the Brink of War?
Once again, relations between Sudan and South Sudan are teetering on the brink of war. Over the past week, fighting along the border between the two nations, and aerial bombardment by the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, deep into the territory of South Sudan have nearly destroyed rising hopes that the two countries would strike a deal in the near future on outstanding disputes. However, some hope still lives on in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, where officials cling to the possibility that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir will proceed with his visit to Juba on April 3 for a ...
5 Stories You Might Have Missed This Week
A weekly round-up of must-read stories, posted every Friday ...
Chris Meloni vs. Joseph Kony: Funny or Die, Enough Project Take on the LRA
How did the Enough Project team up with actor Chris Meloni to produce this new video with Funny or Die about LRA leader Joseph Kony? This op-ed, originally featured on the Huffington Post, describes how Meloni got invested in the cause and about what the Obama administration must do to ensure that the military advisors deployed to central Africa are successful in their mission to help bring an end to the LRA ...
Enough 101: The Lord’s Resistance Army in the Congo
As part of the series Enough 101, this post is intended to provide a contextual background for understanding the complex issues that the Enough Project works on. We're publishing it today to coincide with the release of “Kony Hunter with Christopher Meloni,” a new video co-produced by the comedy team at Funny or Die and the Enough Project, to provide background on the LRA’s deadly operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo ...
#KonyMeloni: New Video by Funny or Die and the Enough Project
The kings of comedy are at it again, but this time they are using humor to shine a light on human rights atrocities in central Africa. Comedy video website Funny or Die partnered with the Enough Project to co-produce a three-minute video starring Christopher Meloni, who co-starred on NBC’s Law & Order: SVU and recently joined the HBO series True Blood. Watch “Kony Hunter with Christopher Meloni.” ...
