On January 9, 2011, in a referendum provided for by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the people of southern Sudan voted overwhelmingly to secede from the north. The new nation of South Sudan attained its official independence on July 9 of that year. Unfortunately, violence in both countries has continued.
United Nations observers monitoring violence in Syria suspended operations today amidst increasing violence and threats to their safety. The lead monitor, Robert Mood, became concerned after some of the monitors came under fire last Tuesday as they entered the scene of a massacre. This comes over a month after a ceasefire was supposed to take effect.
We like to take ourselves seriously. Really seriously. We like to wear suits and suitpants, write letters to our congressmembers, use acronyms like GenPrev or R2P, and write legislation that divests our government from black-listed oil companies.
But we can have fun too.
Get a peak into our fun side at our new tumblr: #WhatShouldSTANDCallMe. Feel free to ask us any questions there and even submit your own posts or ideas. We’d love to hear from you and feature your ideas!
A quick sample:
As the school year winds down and summer begins, our jobs as civilian protection advocates are not complete. As Burma slowly continues down the road to civilian control, the Obama Administration is ready to lift a first round of sanctions. However, many activists, both American and Burmese, have urged caution as the US normalizes its relationship with Burma. Renewing the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act is a crucial step to maintaining pressure on the Burmese military and urging more reform.
By Social Media Coordinator Emma Goldberg
By Advocacy Coordinator Maria Thomson
Being the National Education Coordinator for STAND during the past school year allowed me to grow as an individual, advocate, and student. My primary jobs included making educational materials for existing conflicts in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Syria, Skyping with chapters to discuss current events, distributing information about emerging conflicts in North Africa, working with a task force consisting of conflict experts, contr
Being the National Education Coordinator for STAND during the past school year allowed me to grow as an individual, advocate, and student. My primary jobs included making educational materials for existing conflicts in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Syria, Skyping with chapters to discuss current events, distributing information about emerging conflicts in North Africa, working with a task force consisting of conflict experts, contributing to campaign planning, and publishing a weekly news update. These duties are critical for maintaining STAND’s identity
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.
