Almost two weeks after the passage of a UN backed cease-fire agreement meant to bring a temporary reprieve from violence to the embattled Syrian nation there appears to be little sign of substantive change on the ground.
Today marks a major turning point for the anti-genocide movement in the United States. President Obama announced the creation of a Atrocities Prevention Board which will help ensure the government has the “mechanisms and structures” to prevent and respond to civilian protection crises. The announcement came after an extensive study, directed by the National Security advisor, that assessed existing crisis response infrastructure, protocols necessary for the board’s creation, and how the intelligence community could best assist prevention efforts.
The International Monetary Fund has announced that South Sudan has become the institution’s 188th member country, giving it access to IMF loans and technical assistance.
South Sudan’s oil minister, Stephen Dhieu, claims that Khartoum has been constructing an illegal pipeline to extract oil from South Sudan’s Unity State, amid bombing raids.
By Comms Blogger Tyler S. Bugg.jpg)
It’s never been a better time to be an activist.
Syria
This weekend I am attending Indiana’s first-ever Genocide Prevention Summit. In light of continuing violence along border regions in Sudan and the daily brutality of the Assad regime in Syria, the summit aims to strengthen the genocide prevention activists in the United States and empower diaspora communities.
DRC
By Comms Blogger Roberta Barnett
You’ve probably seen it, read numerous blog posts about it, thought about it, and maybe even discussed it with your chapter. And no matter how you feel about Invisible Children, the campaign, or its intermediate goals, it’s important to bring it full circle to realize that the end goal, putting an end to atrocities perpetrated by the LRA on children and families in Central Africa, is pretty much the same.
