Take Your Time, There's No Rush

The headline in the Times today says, Peacekeeping in Darfur Hits More Obstacles. The worst part is this quote here,

"[The peacekeeping force] now has just over 9,000 of an expected 26,000 soldiers and police officers and will not fully deploy until the end of the year, United Nations officials said."

The end of the year? We really can't get them there any faster than the end of the year? I am glad to know that the international community is actually going to get involved, but I don't understand how they can actually approach this without any urgency. It has taken so long just to get the peacekeeping force approved you would think that they would finally want to dive in and help pacify the situation. But of course, the reason it took so long to get this approved is that the world didn't see this as an emergency then and so it still doesn't.

I long for the day when hundreds of thousands dead horrifies the world and makes them move with all haste to end the violence. And then, I will of course wait for the day when tens of thousands dead has the same effect. And so on.

Article 5

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Apologizing is Not Enough

A good first step in understanding the human rights abuses that persist to this day is to read accounts of events that have already happened. Books like A Long Way Gone or A Problem From Hell. But what happens next is maybe more important than just being outraged over what has already occurred. We need to use that outrage to make us learn more about events that are happening right now. So if Ishael Beah's book moved you, find out where there are still child soldiers. And if Samantha Power's book called you to action, than you need to look at where there are current examples of genocide, ethnic cleansing, or serious violence.

Darfur has obviously been the main focus of anti-genocide advocates. And after more than three years, we all need to be ashamed that it continues. But we absolutely cannot wait until the violence reaches appalling levels before we get involved. As Nicholas Kristof points out, we should be aware and ready to act in situations before the violence starts, or at least soon after it starts. Remember, in the Rwandan genocide 800,000 people died in 100 days. So let's keep the pressure on Darfur, but let's also be ready to advocate for Congo, Somalia, and now Southern Sudan just to name a few.

I will leave you with a quote from Kristof's column that I linked to above:

Those who focused on Sudan’s atrocities in Darfur, myself included, may have inadvertently removed the spotlight from South Sudan. Without easing the outrage over Darfur — where the bloodshed has been particularly appalling lately — we must broaden the focus to include the threat to the south.

One of the lessons of Darfur, Rwanda and Bosnia is that it is much easier to avert a genocide ahead of time than to put the pieces together afterward. So let’s not wait until gunshots are ringing out again all over the south.

Still Slavery

Article 4

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

This one has to be the most heartbreaking to write about. Here we almost 146 years after Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation - following the battle of Antietam - the bloodiest day in the American Civil War, and the world still hasn't eliminated slavery. One need only look at Nicholas Kristof's page on the NY Times site and see his columns about sex slaves in Cambodia. In one series of columns, he bought the freedom of two girls, hoping to give them a new and better life. After following-up, he finds one of the two is back at the brothel.

It should be no surprise that one effective way to deal with this is to fight poverty and illiteracy. It is a lack of food and resources that drives youth to unfamiliar cities, as it is a lack of money that drives parents to sell their kids. People face uncertain futures and are therefore easy targets for slavery.

Kristof also points out though that President Bush had been doing a good job in bringing attention to the issue and shaming countries into cracking down on the illegal sex trade. (This is a lesson I keep stressing; that the evangelical population in the US can be a great partner for human rights issues.) But despite some of Bush's efforts and Kristof's columns, this issue is barely debated. In the US, the debate over slavery tore our country apart. But now, there is a gross silence - one that ignores if not condones the practice.

To fight this, and so many of the other human rights issues we come across, anti-poverty and attention are two of our best tools for the long-term battle.

Article 4

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Laughter, Learning and Living, NOT Fighting!

Article 3

Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.

Laughter, learning and living is what all children should have the right to, not fighting. It is estimated by UNICEF that 250,000 children are soldiers. Children soldiers are forced to fight a war that they do not belong in. Instead of playing with toys, reading books, and enjoying freedom of imagination, children are taken from their families and live in a nightmare of violence, abuse, and hatred.

Reading "A Long Way Gone: Memoir of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah, I am brought into the world of a young man who has already lived a lifetime of memories unforgotten. A story told by one and suffered by more than two hundred thousand. I can't even begin to comprehend the magnitude of horror, hurt, and fear.

Ishmael's story is an inspiration of hope, determination, and freedom. He is a hero all to know and to think of when we hear stories about children soldiers. If you have read Ishmael's story, you have learned how one child fought to stay alive and survived. What we may not realize are all of the individual stories that each child soldier has to tell. According to Human Rights Watch, there are about 20 different countries where children are forced to be soldiers.

This year, under the Women's and Youth Forum, the Human Rights Committee aims to build public awareness on children soldiers. We intend to keep apprised of conflicts where children are used as soldiers and will work to collaborate with organizations to help address the issue.

"I was so afraid of dying. But my friends warned me if the rebel commanders detected any fear in me they would kill me. So I had to pretend to be brave."
Charles, 12 Years Old
Rwandan Refugee

"I just want to go home and be with my family."
Christopher, 12 Years Old
Uganda

Kristof is Back!

Let me just say that I am so thankful that Nicholas Kristof is back from book leave. It is so great that the NY Times has a columnist that focuses on human rights issues, and he is greatly missed when he takes time off. And let me also say that I am completely on board with the Genocide Olympics (shaming China into ending its protection of Sudan).