Category: Blog

Several recent developments in Sudan regarding the conflict in South Kordofan, where over 200,000 individuals have been killed, injured, or forcibly displaced according to UN reports, highlight the volatility that currently exists in the Sudanese political arena. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir recently declared a ceasefire in South Kordofan, but reports of continued fighting and aerial bombardment by the Sudan Armed Forces, or SAF, indicate that this truce has already been broken ...

Despite opposition from Washington industry lobbyists, some companies have shown public support for conflict minerals legislation. Last week, the jewelry company Brilliant Earth posted on its Facebook page in strong support of the Dodd-Frank bill. The San Francisco-based jewelry retailer stated that “The new law doesn’t ban the export of Congo’s minerals to the United States; it simply requires more transparency.” Therefore it is up to industries that are involved in mineral sourcing from the Congo, mainly electronics and jewelry companies, to become socially responsible and commit to conflict-free regulations instead of simply moving their business elsewhere ...

Evidence of mass graves and systematic mass killing of civilians in South Kordofan, Sudan has been mounting. The latest report by Satellite Sentinel Project released today confirms with visual evidence and new eyewitness reports the collection and burial of human remains in and around Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan. The report presents evidence of two additional mass graves in the area—bringing the total number of alleged mass graves to eight thus far ...

By Aaron Hall and Bahati Jacques This post originally appeared on African Arguments: In recent weeks a debate has emerged over the merits of the conflict minerals provision in the Dodd-Frank Act. Critics of the legislation assert that the provision and those groups supporting it are responsible for causing damage to the people and communities of eastern Congo. Specifically, David Aronson's New York Times op-ed ‘How congress devastated Congo’ – which argues that the US law is responsible for the suffering of eastern Congolese mining communities – is irresponsibly oversimplified ...

The nation of South Sudan has come into existence with many unresolved issues threatening the stability of the new state. One of the greatest of these is the continued activity of seven South Sudan rebel militias, in addition to the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA ...

This post originally appeared on Global Post: What do corrupted Congolese warlords and Washington lobbyists have in common? They’ve joined forces to become the biggest obstacle to development and stability in eastern Congo ...

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Dovetailing with the recent U.N. report calling for investigations into human rights violations in Sudan, the Satellite Sentinel Project, or SSP, released a report today that identified three new alleged mass grave sites in and around Kadugli, the state capital of South Kordofan, where heavy fighting has taken place since June ...

Nelson Ochaya, a former LRA child soldier, shares his story of abduction and escape, and how his experience inspired him to work toward educating and reintegrating other former child soldiers ...

Over two months since the conflagration in the Sudanese border state of South Kordofan broke out, violence continues to persist, and the warring parties have not re-opened dialogue. Despite findings by the United Nations report that suggest war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in the conflict, the international response has moved little beyond rhetoric ...