GI-NET's blog

Pirates, Grenade Launchers and the Future of Sudan

A recent chain of events-more likely to appear in a Hollywood movie than real-life-involving Somali pirates and an ill-fated Ukrainian freighter has exposed a shipment of arms on its way to southern Sudan.

We scored another success for Darfur in last night's presidential debate!  When moderator Tom Brokaw asked each candidate to discuss his doctrine for use of force when there aren't national security issues at stake, both seized the opportunity to discuss Darfur:

Senator Obama: "...it's so important for us to be able to work in concert with our allies.

Seeking justice for the victims of genocide and mass human rights abuses can be tricky enough when the perpetrators are protected by their home countries, but what about when they are protecting victims of other genocides?

In response to Sudanese government threats against the Kalma IDP camp, the UNAMID peacekeeping mission deployed a platoon of armed soldiers and an armored personnel carrier to Kalma in order to increase camp security.

Great job, GI-NET members!

Vote for the Genocide Intervention Network in the Squidoo Charity Giveaway, and help win GI-NET $80,000!

For every vote, GI-NET will receive $2; the challenge ends at 40,000 votes. The deadline is October 15th, and you can only vote once. Vote here: http://www.squidoo.com/squidoo-charity-giveaway and tell your friends and family to do the same!

Peace Process at Risk

What can you do with $7?  Well, if I had $7, I could spend it on any one of the wonderful CDs at the Best Buy bargain bin (Best of Kenny Rogers, anyone?) or 1.5 spicy tuna sushi rolls.  Not a whole lot of bang for your buck, but over time $7 can add up pretty quickly!  

For example, if I give $7 to GI-NET every month for one year, that's $84.  $84 can help a Darfurian woman start an income-generating project as an alternative to leaving her camp to collect firewood, where she risks rape.  

The first presidential debate is over and the Genocide Intervention Network (GI-NET) would like to thank every activist who wrote in to Jim Lehrer, requesting a question on Darfur for this debate. While any questions beyond Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and North Korea were shelved in favor of addressing the current economic crisis, Americans Against Genocide has launched a new campaign to have a portion of the domestic policy debate given over to foreign policy questions.

While the world eagerly awaits any ICC announcement concerning the case of Omar al-Bashir, the fight to end impunity in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to move forward.