Darfur

On March 24, 2005 the United Nations established the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) in order to oversee the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The hope was for the CPA to bring an end to the civil war that had been raging for years. One of the stipulations of this agreement was the allowance of a secession vote for the south. This vote took place this past January and southern secession is set to be implemented on July 9, 2011. This mission remains in effect today.

The secession of Southern Sudan following the referendum on self-determination is imminent. Despite the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) prescribing an interim period with a programme of legal reform to address long-standing grievances, no real, conscientious efforts were made to make unity realistic for southerners.

The anticipation is palpable as the Referendum in Sudan draws near. This Sunday, millions of Sudanese will take to the polls for this monumental vote. Residents of Africa’s largest country have already begun traveling to voting centers in order to make their voices heard. Hundreds of international observers are in place, the ballots are en route, and journalists from around the world are on the ground to document the event. Among the crowds of observers will be former US President Jimmy Carter and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, both on location as a part of the Carter Center’s delegation.

After a mass government endorsed massacre on September 28 in Guinea, Africa, the West African Bloc has called for civilian rule, as the vice president assumed power over the country after a failed assassination attempt on President Moussa Dadis Camara last Thursda

Most of us cannot fathom what it is like to live with violence or political strife. We are governed by laws, morals and democratic rights that afford us the protection we require during times of crisis and upheaval. Though our rape statistics in North America continue to go under-reported, rape as an act of war is heavily prevalent in many regions of the world, especially Africa.
 

Last night at the venerable 92Y, Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haass took a few questions from a smiley, curious, leggy Katie Couric. Haass has a new book out, War of Necessity, War of Choice, and The MANTLE would love a good progressive critique of it--so get crackin'!