Chasing The Flame

China and Diamonds

Today Mark Leon Goldberg of the UN Dispatch pointed out two important anniversaries.  China and diamonds are the traditional anniversary gifts respectfully for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified 20 years ago, and the Geneva Conventions, signed 60 year ago today.  However, instead of running off to Bloomingdale's, the United States might want to consider a more thoughtful gift.  While we have started to reconsider the consequences that our “War on Terror” has had on the humanitarian principals behind international conflicts, it might be time to take another look at the Convention on the Rights of the Child – one of the most comprehensive pieces of legislation aimed at helping children – and almost universally ratified, except by the U.S.

Darfur: Are we willing to hold our elected officials responsible for inaction?

This week’s congressional hearings on Darfur and the quest for peace in Sudan could provide the necessary momentum for a shift in the Obama administration’s policy on the region which is currently under review.  Witnesses at the hearings included UN Ambassador Susan Rice, former U.S. Envoy to Sudan Richard Williamson,  Roger Winter, former special representative for Sudan to the deputy secretary of State, and John Prendergast and John Norris of Enough.

Winter, Williamson and Prendergast, who have been working on or in Sudan for decades, urged Congress to take a leadership position, to stand up and stand for the principles that they and many in the Obama administration upheld as they campaigned for their current positions.  They also argued that Congress had a critical role to play as the Obama administration struggled to translate the signals coming from Khartoum.  Winter, Williamson and Prendergast urged the representatives to not be fooled by these signals and to better understand how Khartoum has effectively used the international community as it has continued to wreak havoc on the people of Darfuran d the wider region.  They also urged Congress to take a leadership role in demanding a comprehensive plan for the region, to recognize that the stop, start, piecemeal work was not only not working but was playing into Khartoum’s hands.

It seems clear that the Obama administration is split on its interpretation of events in Sudan and on the best course of action to take in the region.  U.S. Special Envoy Scott Gration continues to argue for incentives (carrots) and to question whether in fact genocide is taking place in Darfur. UN Ambassador Rice takes a much firmer stand on Sudan believing, like many of the other witnesses, that sticks should be used instead and that Sudan has not earned any incentives. She also did not publicly question the legitimacy of the genocide charge. As more of these internal debates come to light, so did the stumbling of the Obama administration’s spokespeople.  If Samantha Power were to update "A Problem from Hell," there is little doubt that she would include the exchange between the press and Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs PJ Crowley. Watch it here, and, as you do, reflect on this exchange between the press and State Department Spokesperson Christine Shelley shown in the first few seconds of this clip. .

This infamous exchange has now appeared in books, articles, and documentaries.  It was this response to Rwanda that set the world on fire years later---as they read Philip Gourevitch’s "We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will be Killed with Our Families," Samantha Power’s "A Problem from Hell," and watched Frontline’s Triumph of Evil, Greg Barker’s "Ghosts of Rwanda," and Terry George’s feature film, "Hotel Rwanda."  It was the shock, sadness, shame and desire to not stand by while innocent people were raped, murdered and forced from their homes that inspired thousands of people — and many men and women running for office — to dare to say, “never again, not on my watch.”  Indeed, it was their belief that something could and should be done that inspired them, us, to say it.  Power was correct in her analysis: there is no political cost for standing by, for doing little or nothing, but there should be. There should be more than a moral cost, there should be a political one. But, that is up to us, the voters, and this is where the need for leadership comes in again---it's not just that Congressional leaders need to emerge and speak out, that leaders within the National Security Council need to emerge and speak out, leaders within the Obama administration need to emerge and speak out, it’s that we do.  The only cost that will matter is a political cost and that only matters if we are willing to demand payment.

Darfur: When did our expectations for human beings get so low?

Yesterday the Enough Project hosted a conference call on the situation in Sudan.  In many ways, it was a “wake up” call, an impassioned plea to get people to stop hitting their snooze button on Darfur, looking for any reason to go back to sleep.  As Enough co-founder John Prendergast said, a new (American) administration needs some time to settle.  And, they’ve had some time.

Prendergast and Enough Executive Director John Norris discussed the recent comments by the US Special Envoy on Sudan, Scott Gration, particularly his claim that:

"What we see is the remnants of genocide.  What we see are the consequences of genocide, the results of genocide.  We still have thousands of people living in camps as IDPs.  We have women who are still afraid to go out and collect firewood.  And we have children that are not having the benefits of growing up in their homeland -- that are growing up in these camps. (…)The violence still exists where bandits and Janjaweed and warlords and those kinds of folks do conduct terrorist activities on these folks and do increase terror.  But it doesn’t appear that it is a coordinated effort that was similar to what we had in 2003 to 2006."

If you have time, listen to Prendergast and Norris here.  If not, consider the following.  Article 2 of the Genocide Convention is actually very clear. It reads:

 

Article 2

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Women are afraid to collect firewood because they are being raped.  Children are growing up outside their homeland because they have been forcibly removed from it. People are starving and dying of sickness because access to aid has been turned off. This is genocide.  Because villages are not burning and aerial attacks are not taking place does not mean the genocide has ended. It means that Khartoum responded to the attention of the world and the bright light that was shining on Darfur for a while.

When asked about improvements in Darfur, Prendergast rightly responded with exasperation. Improvements? How are things “better”? Really, when did our expectations for human beings get so low?  Debating how much better things are or how much Khartoum has “improved” the situation is a recipe for spinning our wheels and for becoming tangled up in precisely the kind of endless debate that impedes action.

So, it’s time to shine that light on Darfur again and turn up the heat on ourselves.

Twitter and Iran...A Review

As we mentioned last week, the Iranian protestors’ use of Twitter has everyone talking about the future of micro-blogging.  So just how powerful is the twitter revolution we’ve been hearing so much about?  According to Gordon Brown, it means that “foreign policy can never be the same again,” which has unearthed some commentary from those who are still doubtful that what we’re seeing is a true sea change. 

Noam Cohen of the The New York Times does a very good job breaking down the pros and cons of the social network as news outlet: difficult to censor – check, good at capturing the zeitgeist – yep, often inaccurate – definitely, easily adopted by those trying to spread misinformation – sure seems that way.  Peter Daou of the UN Dispatch makes a more philosophical criticism, lamenting the fact that twitter hasn’t taken up the equally important issues of hunger or violence against women.  This seems slightly unfair since attention going to issues of spiking drama is hardly a problem unique to new technology. 

Steve Bloomfield of Things Seen and Heard makes the more pressing point that all the excitement might end in the old realization that “there is no direct correlation between us knowing about a tragedy and us doing something about it.”  (A point that Good decided to express in statistical terms.) And while it remains to be seen where all this is headed, Cohen’s final point suggests that while there is no proof yet that Twitter can oust a government (Twitter only represented a small percentage of the tools used to organize protests in Iran), its power over traditional media is growing.  When CNN failed to pick up coverage of protests last weekend, a Twitter campaign forced the channel to explain its decision.

Photo: Mykl Roventine on flickr under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

Serving at Home

One doesn’t need to go abroad to make a difference in the world.  President Obama launched the "United We Serve" call to action to inspire Americans to help those in need by volunteering this summer.  Visit Serve.gov to find opportunities and post your own community projects.

Sergio's Post Open Again

The UN Dispatch reports that Sergio’s successor as top diplomat in Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, will be stepping down to become deputy executive director of the World Food Program.  A close friend and colleague of Sergio, de Mistura helped facilitate the difficult political progress that made the surge the success it was.  We await the next appointment with interest.

The United Nation’s Facebook Campaign Gets a Boost from Microsoft

Donations made on Facebook’s Causes section in honor of World Refugee Day on June 20th will now be matched by Microsoft, up to $50,000.  The campaign has already raised more than $10,000.

A Disappointing Stance from Sergio’s Homeland

Human Rights Watch reported today that Brazil is using its seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council to argue for the sovereignty of nations over the need to address human rights violations.  From abstaining on a vote to condemn the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo to co-sponsoring a resolution affirming the principle of non-interference in Sri Lanka despite allegations that the government as well as the rebel LTTE committed war crimes, Brazil is seemingly aligning itself with China, Cuba, Pakistan, and other countries less committed to human rights.

"Brazil's support for abusive governments is undermining the Human Rights Council's performance," said Julie de Rivero, Geneva advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.

Human Rights = Good Foreign Policy

Spencer Ackerman of the Washington Independent reports that human rights groups in Iran are pleased with Obama’s focus on human rights after the recent elections.  Apparently, support for any one side would only fuel suggestions that Ahmadinejad’s opposition is taking orders from the United Sates.

For a more detailed look at how the elections worked and how power is actually wielded in Iran, check out Good’s handy flow chart and explanation.

Twitter once again is serving as the final bastion of political protest.  The last mode of communication shut down in China during the lead-up to the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, it remains one of the only forms of current updates from civilians in Iran.

How Great Would It Be If It Were True?

Human Rights Watch reports that Saudi Arabia agreed to adopt the recommendation of the United Nations Human Rights Council to give Saudi women full legal rights and end the power of male guardianship, a Shari'a concept that they declared was not a legal requirement.

Let's hope there's some action behind the assertions.

Split Focus

Though President Obama's Cairo speech was historic, Foster Klug of the AP points out that it was a shame it had to come on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, thereby overshadowing any critique of China's policy on human rights.

A Sad Reminder

Our friends at Change.org posted a sad reminder that Sergio's fate is a far too common tragedy in the world of humanitarian aid.  The bombing of the Pearl Continental Hotel In Peshawar, Pakistan brings the number of aid workers killed worldwide, this year alone, to forty seven.  It also a creates further problems for Pakistan as the United Nations and other aid agencies consider pulling out of the more dangerous zones where their help is needed.

Film Festival

The 20th Human Rights Watch International Film Festival begins today in New York.  Come out for a diverse line-up of fiction and documentary films.

Follow Up On Texting Campaign

The State Department is reporting that it's raised $31,390 to help those fleeing the Swat Valley since Secretary Clinton announced a new texting campaign last week.  They've raised an additional $84,702 through traditional online donations.

In related news, President Obama just requested an additional $200 million in U.S. Aid for the region.

I Want To Know How That’s Going to Work...

The Virtual Student Foreign Service (VSFS) Internships that Secretary Clinton announced in her New York University commencement speech last week sound fascinating, but I’d love to find a description that actually clarifies what they will entail…

On the other hand, her call to text donations for those fleeing the fighting in the Swat Valley in Pakistan was clear and concise.  To get involved, text “swat” to 20222 to make a $5 donation that will help to supplement the $110 million in aid already promised by the U.S, or visit the UNHCR to make a direct donation.

And a Child Shall Lead Them...

The Washington Post published an inspiring story by Emily Wax last Thursday.

The Varanasi children’s parliament in India is creating a platform for children to express and handle their problems while at the same time providing an example of clean politics in a society where many adults are justifiably mistrustful of their elected leaders.

Find the Sergio in You

Our friends at Change.org launched their new site: Jobs for Change.  Find job listings and read the advice of their career advisors.

Human Rights Leader Lost in Plane Crash

More sad news from last night’s plane crash outside of Buffalo. Human Rights Watch is announcing that among those killed was Alison Des Forges, the group’s expert on the Great Lakes Region of Africa and a tireless and passionate witness and advocate for human rights. Her book on the genocide in Rwanda – Leave None to Tell the Story – is an unparalleled account of the 1994 genocide, what led up to it and its aftermath.

HRW’s Kenneth Roth talks about the loss:

"She was truly wonderful, the epitome of the human rights activist - principled, dispassionate, committed to the truth and to using that truth to protect ordinary people. She was among the first to highlight the ethnic tensions that led to the genocide, and when it happened and the world stood by and watched, Alison did everything humanly possible to save people. Then she wrote the definitive account. There was no one who knew more and did more to document the genocide and to help bring the perpetrators to justice."

HRW plans to put together a web page to remember Alison and her work. You can read more on this tragic loss here and here.

Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, her colleagues and the people of the world who she was committed to helping.

Photo: Human Rights Watch

Making Things Good Again

Late August 1994, the Irish Republican Army announced a ceasefire after twenty-five years of armed conflict.  A few days later, Michael Longley’s poem, Ceasefire, was published in the Irish Times, the final lines (I get down on my knees and do what must be done/ And kiss Achilles’ hand, the killer of my son) poignantly capturing the challenging, for many unimaginable, path that lay ahead. How do you live in peace after years of violence? What does it look like? What does peace sound like? How do you learn to trust ‘the other’? How is confidence restored within communities among people who feel betrayed by their ‘own’? Must the violent past be faced in order to secure peace, coexistence or forgiveness? And what role, if any, must there be for acknowledgement, responsibility, blame, punishment or justice?

Last week, I was in Northern Ireland working with staff members from WAVE Trauma Centre who are designing a course on peace-building. On Friday, their phones started ringing all at once.  It was the press, seeking comment on leaks of the Eames –Bradley Report.  Lord Robin Eames and Denis Bradley co-chair the Consultative Group on the Past. Their awesome task is to consult across the community to figure out how to deal with the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland.  The report comes out this afternoon, but based on leaks the responses have already started. They are not encouraging.

Representatives of Sinn Fein plan to skip the event. On their website, they write:

"When the Eames/ Bradley Group were first established we expressed serious reservations about the fact that it was being formed and funded by the British government. Any report it makes will go to the NIO (Northern Ireland Office) and they will make decisions on what would happen next. Despite these reservations we did meet the group and encouraged others to do likewise.

"Nationalists and Republicans will not accept the British government attempting to portray themselves as innocent bystanders in this conflict. The British government directly and indirectly through their surrogate murder gangs were active participants in the conflict and any process of truth recovery must reflect that reality.

"The fact that the Eames/Bradley group have decided to exclude the families of those killed through British State violence from today's event adds further to the sense of unease within the broad nationalist community at the direction of this group. Given this snub Sinn Féin will not be attending today's event."

Peter Robinson, the current First Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), said in anticipation of the report:

"As yet, I have not seen a copy of the group's recommendations but media reports on the issue are both disappointing and disturbing.



"Dealing with the legacy of the past is a monumental task. It must to be handled with sensitivity and due care for the needs of innocent victims with the maintenance of justice at its core. We will not allow any whitewashing of the past in order to absolve those guilty of heinous acts carried out against innocent people.



"We will not give our support to any proposal which would blur the line between the terrorist and the innocent victim nor will we accept or endorse the work of any process which would seek to absolve murderers and criminals of their guilt.

"

He added: "This process has been a waste of time. The group was urged by the DUP to recognise that Northern Ireland needed an innovative approach to deal with the past, not an imitation process from other conflicts. We will be ensuring that the Government does not insult the innocent victims of terrorism by giving any weight to
these offensive recommendations."

The launch of the report today was met by more anger, primarily focused at the proposal of a £12,000 payment for families of all those killed. Lord Eames refers to the sum as a “recognition payment.”

At the news conference, Eames said, it’s "time for society to take the final step out of conflict by dealing with the legacy of the past." "We know that one size does not fit all and we are not imposing a one size fits all approach.”  "But we are recommending... one package that offers many different options for individuals and communities."

Other recommendations include:

• An independent Legacy Commission to last five years with a £100m bursary to tackle the tasks of securing reconciliation, justice and information recovery
• Reconciliation Forum to help the Legacy Commission and the existing Commission for Victims and Survivors for Northern Ireland (CVSNI)
• The nearest relative of each person who died in the conflict should receive a £12,000 "recognition payment"
• A new Review and Investigation Unit to replace the police Historical Enquiries Team and the Police Ombudsman's unit dealing with historical cases
• No new public inquiries
• The Group did not propose an amnesty for crimes linked to the conflict, but recommended the Legacy Commission should make proposals on how a line might be drawn
• An annual Day of Reflection and Reconciliation and a shared memorial to the conflict

It’s far easier to break things than to put them back together.  Reconstruction and repair require imagination, hope and a leap of faith as well as a huge dose of patience and pragmatism.  So, after mass violence, what do you think it takes to “make things good again”?  What are the necessary ingredients? What would you recommend?

--Karen Murphy, Facing History

 
 

Renewing Our Commitment to Fight Human Trafficking

On December 23rd, while most of us were finishing our holiday shopping, President Bush signed an important bill into law, enhancing U.S. measures against human trafficking. H.R.7311, the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Reauthorization Act, improves measures to combat trafficking in persons and authorizes appropriations through 2011 for the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. This bill is the newest weapon in the federal fight against trafficking, which according to NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof, is “one of President Bush’s few positive legacies in foreign affairs.”

At the helm of this work is Ambassador Mark Lagon, who serves as the Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. In his remarks at the Promising Practices in International Programming Conference, he stated the following: “At the heart of U.S. government efforts to end human trafficking is a commitment to human dignity—a desire not only to rescue, but restore. As such, it is a great blessing to be allowed the opportunity to benefit the lives of the most degraded, most exploited, most dehumanized people in the world." 

This new legislation allows our leaders to do just that. According to the Polaris Project, it "significantly enhances the tools available to prosecute traffickers, and increases protection and services for U.S. citizens and foreign national victims in the U.S."

One important provision of H.R. 7311 permits trafficking victims in the U.S. to receive services such as counseling and trauma assistance without necessarily participating in law enforcement efforts.  Holly Burkhalter, VP for Government Relations at the International Justice Mission, says “this is an important reform. Many trafficking victims are afraid to come forward to receive services they need because they are afraid of law enforcement officials. By allowing trafficking victims to receive services...before they make a decision about participating in prosecution, victims will receive the care they need and be in a better position to contribute to those law enforcement efforts.” 

The bill also strengthens international measures against these crimes, outlining actions to be taken against governments who fail to meet minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. In addition, H.R. 7311 authorizes new research and data collection tools to improve our understanding of trafficking trends around the world in the U.S. 

This new legislation has received positive reviews from leading anti-trafficking organizations, including the IJM and the Polaris Project. Though IJM leader Burkhalter acknowledged the importance of the bill, she also pointed out that U.S. funding for anti-trafficking programs is not nearly enough. She argued that “it is up to the Obama Administration and the new Congress to really bring this fight into the twenty-first century. What we need is the foreign aid equivalent of PEPFAR for slavery and trafficking eradication.”

The Action Group to End Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery published a set of more concrete recommendations for the incoming administration, while reflecting on past policies.  The report finds that while U.S. policies have succeeded in raising global awareness and building a governmental structure to understand and respond to the issues, serious challenges remain. It concludes: “To properly protect the victims of human trafficking…the United States must reassert its role as a champion of human rights and commit anew to the abolishment of modern-day slavery.”

Although President-elect Obama has committed to radically changing a host of U.S. policies, in this case, he would do well continue the positive momentum in this area.