Sudan:

The Government of Sudan has confirmed accusations that it is building up troops in a volatile border region between North and South Sudan.

This week, Barack Obama nominated Senator Hillary Clinton to be America’s next Secretary of State.

Click here to send Clinton a message asking her to highlight Sudan as a critical priority during her confirmation hearings and to develop plans now so the new administration can end the crisis without delay.

Say the word out lout: “Janjaweed”. The first set of images and word that tend to flash into people’s minds are “devil on horseback”, “militia”, “genocide”, “Arab”. But beyond these clips of words and phrases and images, do we really know who the Janjaweed are? Where they come from? What role do they truly play in this conflict and do they play this role? If we want to end the crisis in Darfur, we need to understand where these actors are coming from.

Congratulations to everyone who had a successful STANDFast! I am so excited to hear about everyone’s events – I counted more than 40 events on facebook alone on December 3rd! I know there were many more events that took place before the 3rd, and guess what – you can still host an event! It’s not too late!

Fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo continues to escalate this week, as civilians face rape, torture, and murder from rebel militias and government forces alike. Thousands have been forced to flee their homes in recent weeks, with a quarter million Congolese newly displaced since August. The UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, known as MONUC, has been unable to protect civilians from the violence.

Darfur:

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and US special envoy to Darfur Richard Williamson accused Sudan of violating the ceasefire it signed last week. The UN has sent a special delegation to investigate the alleged bombings.

I often see the same Margaret Mead quotation used over and over in STAND: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” While perhaps overused, it is an extremely appropriate sentiment for what STAND is. We describe STAND as the Student Anti-Genocide Coalition. As individual students, we have an incredible ability to bring about change, advocate for policy, educate our friends and raise money for the survivors of mass atrocities.

As of just over a week ago, there were 2 arrest warrants and 1 request for an arrest warrant hanging on the walls of the International Criminal Court in the Hague that concerned the crisis in Darfur. The first two were Ahmed Haroun, the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan, and Ali “Kaushayb”, a known Janjaweed leader; the third is a pending warrant for the arrest of the President of Sudan himself, Omar al-Bashir.

As we near our final days in STAND Fast we, as advocates should probably reflect on what we have done and pat ourselves on the back for what (at least I believe) amounts to a stunning show of innovation in the way we deliver aid. The divergence in philosophy that GI Net has taken in producing efficient micro-solutions, that could have major impacts in the way conflict effected people live, represents a new brand of humanitarianism, one that is smart and lasting.