Report: U.N. Agency Seeks to Boost Refugee Education
This month the U.N. refugee agency released a report with extra significance for the work of the Darfur Dream Team. UNHCR’s “A Global Review on Refugee Education” outlines the importance of education for refugees and the challenges UNHCR faces in providing quality education ...
Congo: Colonialism through Dictatorship, 1400s-1997
This week's post in the series Enough 101 looks at the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo from colonialism through the rule of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko ...
Upcoming Elections in Congo: Do They Matter?
Congo is also known for its impressive natural resource wealth, yet it is as rich in resources as it is in atrocities given the fact that it has been ravaged by successive wars for more than 15 years. The province of South Kivu and its capital city, Bukavu, is one of the worst conflict-affected areas in eastern Congo. In light of the conflict and hardship in the East, I asked myself: Do the upcoming elections matter here? Across the country and here in South Kivu the campaign is the subject of countless conversations among the locals. I spent some time ...
LRA Report Card #3: Obama Improves His Grades, But Still Has A Lot of Work to Do
Just over a month ago, President Obama announced the deployment of U.S. military advisors to assist regional efforts to apprehend senior Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, commanders, protect civilians, and encourage defections from the rebel group. This is a welcome step forward in the President's implementation of the 2010 LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, but according to the latest LRA Strategy Report Card released today the U.S. still needs to do more ...
Congo: Impunity on Display during Election Season
As electoral campaign violence flares in parts of Congo, officials and onlookers are becoming increasingly concerned about increased foul-play and violence threatening free and fair elections just over a week from now. Nothing could be a better illustration of such activity than the recent kidnapping of traditional Hunde singer Fabrice Masumbuko in Goma ...
A Note from Alabama: Congo Advocacy in Action
During the first stop on what has effectively become my “Southern Tour” for the Raise Hope for Congo campaign, I recently found myself catching the contagious enthusiasm of Congo advocates in Birmingham before I had even had a morning cup of coffee. These two incredible women were taking their Congo story to the office of U.S. Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL), and I met them at a coffee shop to prep for the meeting and learn about their efforts ...
Off to Chad: Follow the Darfur Dream Team’s Trip from D.C. to the Refugee Camps
I’ve never been to sub-Saharan Africa. I’ve never been to a refugee camp. But I’m spending Thanksgiving and next week visiting Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad. Many of these refugees, nearly 300,000, have lived in the camps since the Darfur conflict ignited in 2003 ...
Sudan Rebel Groups Unite, Pledging to Overthrow Bashir
Amid cross-border attacks by the government of Sudan on South Sudan, and the recent takeover of the former rebel stronghold Kurmuk in Sudan’s Blue Nile state, major Sudanese rebel groups have officially joined forces in an alliance to topple the Khartoum regime ...
Key Juncture in U.S. Engagement with Congo Sparks Student Rally at White House – Join Us
With election-related violence on the rise, and experts highlighting some encouraging trends, as well as apparent challenges, connected to the increased focus on the trade in conflict minerals from the East, now is a key moment for the U.S. government to ramp up its engagement in Congo. Next Monday, November 21, the George Washington University STAND chapter is hosting a rally for students, activists, human rights organizations, and members of the African diaspora community ...
5 Stories You Might Have Missed This Week
A weekly round-up of must-read stories, posted every Friday ...
