Blog Posts in OpEds and Letters to the Editor

Posted by John Prendergast on May 2, 2013
Refugee children in Djabal Refugee Camp, Chad

As we gather to mark April as Genocide Awareness month, to recognize atrocities across the world and throughout history, it's important not just to recognize the past, but to learn from it.

Posted by John Prendergast on Nov 9, 2012

Barack Obama's victory over Mitt Romney could have significant implications for America's approach to countries ranging from China to Russia. But U.S. policy toward Africa was unlikely to shift dramatically no matter who was elected president this week -- a remarkable fact considering that nearly every foreign policy issue is cannon fodder for partisan battles these days.

Posted by John Bradshaw on Oct 16, 2012

In April 2012, President Obama went all-in rhetorically when he asserted that preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a "core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States." Such statements are in part an outgrowth of the American public's horror at the genocide and atrocities of recent decades in places like Bosnia, Rwanda, and Darfur. But as the limited U.S. response to the ongoing conflict in Syria illustrates, there is not yet a full understanding of the centrality of preventing mass atrocities to our national security.

Posted by Enough Team on Oct 4, 2012

In Somalia, a year-long military offensive by Kenyan and Somali forces has succeeded in capturing the strategic seaport of Kismayo from the jihadi group al-Shabaab. The liberation of Kismayo is a major setback for al-Shabaab, but is also a big test for the African peacekeeping force—the African Union Mission in Somalia, or AMISOM—and the new post-transition Somali government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. If the Kenyan forces win the war but lose the peace—by mishandling how the liberated city is administered by local authorities—it could create new clan conflicts, drive disaffected clans into tactical alliances with al-Shaabab, and undermine the new Somali national government. The stakes are very high.

Posted by Aaron Hall and ... on Sep 26, 2012
Ban Ki-moon and Joseph Kabila

As global leaders meet in New York this week at the United Nations, pressing issues from a rising violent anti-American protests in the Middle East to rising sea levels in the arctic will be on the world’s table. But one often unknown and underserved humanitarian disaster is finally getting a look from the international community and from the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, himself.