In a post earlier this month, we discussed the importance of leadership in preventing genocide. The Genocide Prevention Task Force (GPTF) Report specifically calls upon the American president, Congress, and people to lead and support genocide prevention initiatives. But what exactly does the GPTF suggest as methods of preventing genocide?
By Stella Kenyi
This post originally appeared on The Hub.
Tonight, President Barack Obama will deliver his first State of the Union address. This week, activists from around the country called on President Obama to make a public commitment to genocide prevention in his address. In accordance with the recommendations of the Genocide Prevention Task Force report, we must continue to urge the Obama administration to demonstrate leadership on genocide prevention.
In his Nobel Peace Prize speech last month, President Obama said, “When there is genocide in Darfur; systematic rape in Congo; or repression in Burma—there must be consequences.” We must continue to hold President Obama accountable for his promises, including those he made on the campaign trail. We must use this opportunity to urge the Obama administration to demonstrate leadership on genocide prevention.
This week’s topic is the importance of early warning in genocide prevention. To learn more, read the second chapter of the Genocide Prevention Task Force Report.
A discussion guide on how to put peace on the ground in Sudan…
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement
5 years on…
Trivia Question:
Give the month and year that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement assigned to the following benchmarks to be implemented:
1) The national census
2) The national election
3) The referendum on Southern independence
Discussion Guide:
How does the international community help a peace deal to actually achieve peace?
In this week’s issue: SLM rebels attack Sudanese government positions, General Than Shwe confirms that Myanmar is planning 2010 elections, and the mandate for MONUC in Congo is extended for another five months.
Weekly News Brief, December 18 to January 14
Your weekly news brief, compiled by Joshua Kennedy of GI-NET and the STAND E-Team. To receive news briefs and education newsletters, email education@standnow.org to subscribe.
Over the course of the next week, the Obama administration is hosting a series of Facebook chat sessions to “take stock of what we’ve done over the last year, where we are now, and the tremendous amount of work that remains to bring the change the Americans want and need.” The daily chat sessions will feature a morning blog post from a policy specialist in the administration, followed by a video chat on Facebook in the afternoon.
Over one year ago, the Genocide Prevention Task Force, a project of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, the American Academy of Diplomacy, and the US Institute of Peace, released a report detailing recommendations for US policymakers on preventing genocide. The report acknowledges that the current US government response to genocide and mass atrocities is ad hoc; there are no standing institutional mechanisms nor procedures for addressing potential and emerging crises.
