Last Friday, the House Appropriations Committee introduced its budget extensions for fiscal year 2011. The appropriations bill cuts the U.S. foreign affairs budget by 21 percent, or $11.6 billion, from the previous year. In its funding cut, the House Approprations Committee has reduced the effect of a number of important U.S. foreign-operations initiatives: the bill reduces U.S. contributions to peacekeeping activities by 15 percent, migration and refugee assistance by 41 percent, and will eliminate the Complex Crises Fund, which enables the United States to mobilize quick responses to international humanitarian crises.

Congress is considering unprecedented cuts to humanitarian aid and conflict prevention initiatives. These budget reductions put lives at risk in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and a number of other humanitarian crises around the world. Call 1-800-GENOCIDE to urge your Representative to vote NO on the appropriations bill unless these programs are restored.

In response to the current appropriations bill, Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) issued a statement in support of continued diplomacy and development funding:

"Even in these difficult economic times, we cannot afford to enact broad and haphazard cuts to key pillars of our national security. We must not allow our response to an economic challenge to create a national security crisis," Lowey said.

Take Action Now: Call 1-800-GENOCIDE to urge your Representative to vote NO on the appropriations bill unless funding for foreign-operations programming is restored.

Later this month, between February 21 and 25, members of Congress will return to their home districts to engage constituents on a variety of legislative issues, from the state of the economy and employment to green energy and sustainable growth. These in-district sessions provide STAND activists with a unique opportunity to represent the voice of the anti-genocide constituency and advance our central policy priorities.

Sign up here to lobby your Congresspersons and Senators on Sudan policy issues.

These in-district lobby session will enable activists to cultivate relationship with their members of Congress and advocate for critical anti-genocide policy approaches. The February lobby days will center on the U.S. government’s reinvigorated engagement in the Darfur peace process, as well as the prioritization of post-referendum peace negotiations between North and South Sudan.

Sign up here.

STAND will arrange meetings for all lobbying students, and will provide lobby-session participants will all resources necessary to prepare students for the meetings. 

Contact advocacy@standnow.org with any questions or concerns about the February Lobby Days. And don’t forget to sign-up to lobby Congress!

Originally posted on the Genocide Intervention Network blog:

State Department Releases Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review

On December 15, 2010 the U.S. State Department issued the first-ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR). According to State, "the QDDR provides a blueprint for elevating American ‘civilian power’ to better advance our national interests." Among other things, this effort to advance national interests includes "directing and coordinating the resources of all America’s civilian agencies to prevent and resolve conflicts."

As we know, historically the United States has struggled to develop the capacity necessary to effectively address situations of deadly conflict.  This is particularly true in situations where genocide or mass atrocities have taken place. The QDDR blueprint provides important acknowledgment of this gap and a clear commitment toward enhancing U.S. capacity along these lines.

Genocide and Mass Atrocities

The QDDR contains six chapters and the fourth—titled Preventing and Responding to Crises, Conflict and Instability—is most relevant to our work.  This chapter states that "the mission of State and USAID with regard to crisis and conflict in fragile states is to reduce or eliminate short, medium and long-term threats to American security."

Along these lines, the chapter makes clear that preventing and responding to genocide and mass atrocities is in the national security interest of the United States. The chapter underscores the need to utilize the full diplomatic weight of the U.S. earlier in order to better prevent atrocities. The QDDR further highlights the U.S. endorsement of the Responsibility to Protect and places preventing genocide and mass atrocities as a high priority.

Implementing the Blueprint

If implemented, the QDDR blueprint will support a more effective approach to genocide and mass atrocity prevention and response. Among other things the State Department plans to:

• Create the position of Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights to better consolidate capacities;

• Create a bureau for Conflict and Stabilization Operations, which will subsume and expand upon the existing Office for the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization that has deployed to places like Sudan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo;

• Coordinate better with USAID, particularly the Office for Transition Initiatives that has been responsible for successfully executing programs designed to promote stability;

• Develop programs to better train civilians with the tools needed to effectively respond to conflicts or potential conflicts; and

• Build a long-term foundation for peace through security and justice sector reform.

What This Means for Our Work

In 2011, our organization will be working to garner Congressional support for a comprehensive bill on genocide prevention. The goal of the legislation will be to increase the capacity of the United States to more effectively prevent and respond to genocide and mass atrocities.  We were pleased to see that the QDDR prioritizes and outlines many of the changes necessary to increase this capacity. In many ways, the QDDR provides additional support for our ongoing work on genocide prevention and even outlines additional ideas that might be helpful to pursue. Stay tuned for opportunities to get involved in the fight to prevent genocide.

Gen. Scott Gration, the Obama administration’s special envoy to Sudan, warned today of a likely delay in the two upcoming referenda, on Southern Sudanese independence and the status of the Abyei region:

A whole host of U.S. officials are on the ground in Sudan, working tirelessly to encourage that two votes scheduled for early January are conducted on time and fairly. But the top U.S. official in Sudan said on Monday that at least one of the two votes will not happen as scheduled, and that the other could now be delayed as well.

…

U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration said on Monday on a conference call from Khartoum that due to problems setting up the vote in Abyei, that vote will not happen on Jan. 9 as had been hoped.

"We’ve passed the opportunity for there to be a poll," Gration said, citing disagreements over voter eligibility that led to delays in setting up the logistics of holding a referendum in Abyei. He said the issue was in the hands of the two parties, but that the United States was "encouraging them to do what it takes to get a solution before the end of the 9th of January."

The revised goal appears to be somewhat less ambitious, but no less critical: if the outstanding issues in dispute in Abyei are unresolved before the South votes on Jan. 9 — and if the expected outcome of secession hold — both sides could claim ownership of the province and violence could erupt.

"We are working with both sides to calm the rhetoric and put a plan in place that will give both sides reassurances," Gration said. "This is probably not a situation where either side will be happy. We’re looking for a solution that leaves both sides angry but neither side mad."

While the U.S. continues to search for a political solution to the possible referenda delays, a senior U.S. official, speaking to Josh Rogin at FP’s Cable blog, warned of the possibility of violence in the Abyei region:

A senior U.S. official, speaking on background, said that the Abyei situation was extremely tense and represented the greatest risk of violence in the near term. If Abyei breaks out in violence, it could threaten the overall Southern Sudan referendum, the official said.

"In terms of violence that would upset the (Jan. 9) referendum, Abyei could be a flashpoint that would be disturbing enough that there would be cause for a delay," the officials said. "It’s important that the (Sudanese) presidency come out with some roadmap, some solution, that the people in that area know what their future is going to be."

Of course, even without a breakout of violence in Abyei, the referendum in Southern Sudan might be delayed anyway. Gration said that although the technical preparations in Southern Sudan were going well, legal challenges to the referendum could result in a delay.

Following weeks of targeted advocacy by the Sudan activism community–including over 1,600 calls to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton–the Obama administration announced today the appointment of Ambassador Dane Smith as the senior U.S. diplomat for Darfur. Ambassador Smith, who has served previously as the U.S. ambassador to Guinea and special envoy to Liberia, will join the current U.S. delegation to Sudan as the administration’s primary point-man on Darfur peace negotiations. Ambassador Smith’s appointment comes at a critical time for the future of peace and stability in Darfur, as peace negotiations in Doha have continued to stagnate and the security situation on the ground has worsened.

Ambassador Smith’s appointment was welcomed today by Sudan Now, a coalition of advocacy organizations dedicated to concerted action by the U.S. government to facilitate peace in Sudan. Lauding the Obama administration for its responsiveness to the activism community, GI-NET President Mark Hanis outlined a valuable framework for Ambassador Smith’s work in Sudan:  

Dane Smith should focus much-needed attention in Darfur to stop the continuing violence and human rights violations, ensure access for humanitarian organizations and peacekeeping forces, and facilitate voluntary return of people who have been forced from their homes by years of violence.

STAND is hosting our first National Conference Call of the year at 8:00 pm EST tonight. The call will focus specifically on the Conflict-Free Campus Initiative, a partnership between STAND and the Enough Project. We will discuss STAND’s existing resources for the Initiative, policy objectives and advocacy targets, and the Initiative’s potential impact on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is a valuable opportunity for those interested in starting a campus campaign around mineral extraction and violence in the DRC, or in learning about the status of the movement going forward. 

To call in, please call STAND’s conference call number: (760) 569-6000. Then, enter to pass key: 474463#. The call begins at 8:00 PM. Be there!

Register for STAND’s first National Conference Call of the year here.

As Congress moves towards its electoral recess, the Senate’s genocide prevention resolution is gaining momentum. Introduced on August 5 by Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Susan Collins (R-ME), S.Con.Res. 71 is an important first step in the development of a coordinated U.S. government strategy to prevent and end genocide and mass atrocities. 

As of this morning, S.Con.Res. 71 boasts 11 co-sponsors, including eight Democrats, two Republicans, and one Independent. In order to facilitate the resolution’s passage before the next Congress, S.Con.Res. 71 will require greater bipartisan support. This is a critical moment for the movement to prevent and end genocide and mass atrocities. The resolution, which is based on the recommendations of the Genocide Prevention Task Force, will facilitate "long-term structural change" in the U.S. government’s approach to genocide and mass atrocities prevention.

Check your Senator’s support for genocide and mass atrocities prevention here, and contact your Outreach Coordinator about further opportunities for legislative advocacy in support of S.Con.Res. 71.

The State Department announced yesterday the creation of a Sudan negotiation support team, which will assist the U.S. diplomatic mission in Sudan in facilitating the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) implementation process. The support team, led by veteran U.S. Ambassador Princeton Lyman, will meet with various stakeholders in the CPA process over the next several weeks, including the leadership of the National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLA), as well as international actors from Norway, the United Kingdom, and the U.N.

As the Enough Project’s David Sullivan noted in a Politico article yesterday, this is a positive development for U.S. diplomatic engagement in Sudan:

“This is a welcome sign for us from the administration that it needs to bring in folks with that kind of résumé…It’s a good step. We now seem to be acknowledging the successful model that helped result in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005 that was negotiated by a team of senior diplomats on the ground in support of an Africa-led process.”

Ambassador Lyman’s extensive credentials in diplomacy in Africa–he served as the first U.S. Ambassador to post-apartheid South Africa, as well as Ambassador to Nigeria–are an encouraging indication of the Obama administration’s growing prioritization of the CPA implementation process. Sudan Now, the coalition of Sudan advocacy organizations, has continuously called for an increase in U.S. diplomatic engagement in the CPA process.

The United States’ participation in the CPA implementation process must be coordinated and multilateral. While this positive step is encouraging, further schisms in the Obama administration’s Sudan policy could jeopardize the diplomatic operation. President Obama must demonstrate the leadership required to ensure the success of Ambassador Lyman’s diplomatic team, as well as a peaceful referendum on Southern Sudanese independence.

According to reports by the Washington Post and Foreign Policy magazine’s Turtle Bay blog, the Obama administration will push for a commission of inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma. This development comes after months of grassroots campaigning and advocacy from human rights organizations, including the US Campaign for Burma, STAND, and Human Rights Watch. According to administration officials, the decision does not reverse the administration’s policy of engagement with the Burmese regime: 

The decision reflects mounting frustration that nearly two years of diplomatic outreach, including several visits by senior American diplomats to Burma, have failed to persuade the country’s military ruler, Senior Leader Than Shwe, to release Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, from house arrest or to allow the political opposition to participate in the country’s upcoming election.

Two senior U.S. officials said the Obama administration reached its decision following a lengthy internal review of U.S. policy toward Burma. They also insist that the move is consistent with the U.S. policy of engagement with Burma. "We don’t see diplomacy as a reward: it’s a tool that we hope will have results," according to one of the officials.

The official said the decision to push for a commission of inquiry reflects a judgment that there is merit in allegations of mass crimes by the Burmese military, that Suu Kyi’s political party supports such a commission, and that the Burmese government failed to "come forward with steps to bring progress towards democracy." It also reflected mounting Congressional calls for tougher action against the Burmese regime.

Last month, STAND activists lobbied Senators in support of Senators Feinstein and Gregg’s Dear Colleague letter on a commission of inquiry into crimes in Burma. The letter received signatures from 32 Senators, many of whom met with STAND students.

UN Dispatch blogger Mark Leon Goldberg argues that the recent decision highlights a new opportunity for U.S. engagement with the International Criminal Court:

This kind of ICC bank shot is a good example of how the United States can constructively interact with institutions or treaty regimes that it may support, but in all likelihood will never formally join.  These kinds of strategies are going to become increasingly relevant; treaties that were once considered uncontroversial, like the CEDAW and Law of the Seas, have in today’s political climate become suddenly contentious. Unless something radically changes in the Senate, the United States will have to navigate a future in which it is in permanent observer status to these conventions, treaties and institutions.   Administrations that are supportive of these institutions in principal (as the Obama administration is with the ICC) will have to find a way to influence these structures from the sidelines.

Press coverage of STAND’s national day of action has begun to trickle in. Today’s Cape Cod Times features an article about tonight’s protest in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The protest, which will take place alongside similar protests across the country, will call on President Obama to implement a Sudan policy that holds the Sudanese government accountable for its continued backsliding. The national day of action is a response to reports that the Obama administration plans to approve an exclusively incentive-based Sudan policy, in contrast to the more holistic policy the administration released last fall:

The vigil and "die-in" are 7:30 to 11 p.m. at the Hyannis Village Green, according to organizer MacKenzie J. Hamilton of Harwich. Hamilton is a national outreach coordinator for STAND: Student-led Division of the Genocide Intervention Network.

Speakers from STAND chapters in Harwich and Dennis-Yarmouth high schools are expected to speak. Also invited are three men from southern Sudan and Cape political leaders and candidates.

Similar vigils are planned in Boston and Northampton, Hamilton said.

"It’s such an important time in Sudan’s history," she said last night, as Obama considers what position the U.S. will take to improve the future for a country torn apart by civil war.

Update: Cape Cod STAND chapters have posted a press release at Cape Cod Today.