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.

 Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, DRC

Sudan, South Sudan

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.

 Sudan, South Sudan, DRC, Syria

Sudan, South Sudan

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

It’s never been a better time to be an activist.        

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.

 News Updates 

Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, and DRC

DRC, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria

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.

Only moments after STAND’s Student Director Daniel Solomon spoke earlier today, George Clooney, UEG President Tom Andrews, Enough Project’s John Prendergast, NAACP President Ben Jealous, and U.S. Repesentative McGovern (D-MA) were arrested for crossing a police line outside of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington D.C.

 Weekly Education Update

3/8-3/15

Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, DRC

Sudan, South Sudan

In the New York Times, an American aid worker reports on the fear inspired by government rocket fire in the Nuba Mountains.