Sustainable Good

Investigate the killing of human rights activists in Chechnya

I was deeply shocked and saddened to learn today of the brutal killing of Zarema Sadulayeva and her husband, Alik Dzhabrailov. Ms. Sadulayeva was a tireless campaigner for the welfare of children with disabilities and/or traumatized by war in Chechnya. Though I did not personally know her, we had exchanged a few emails and I was sickened to hear of her death.

“Ms Sadulayeva was a tireless activist who was committed to creating public awareness about the landmine problem in the region and advocating for the rights of landmine survivors and other people with disabilities,” said Ms Kasia Derlicka, Advocacy and Campaign Officer for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, in a press release on their website. “Her death is a huge loss to the mine action community.”

Teach Humanitarian Law in High School

The American Red Cross is calling on high schools around the country to teach classes on international humanitarian law, the laws that govern the conduct of armed conflict (such as the Geneva Conventions), protect noncombatants and outline the role of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

The American Red Cross has produced a “Exploring Humantiarian Law” curriculum made up of five modules that meet the National Social Studies Standards. The lessons explore issues such as students’ understandings of war, possibilities for limiting suffering in conflict, the role of outsiders, child soldier issues, military justice and provision of humanitarian assistance.

Toward Conflict-Free Electronics

Campaigns highlighting the links between diamonds and conflict, knitwear and sweatshops and coffee and exploitative working conditions have done much to raise consumers' awareness of the hidden human cost to seemingly ordinary products.

But did you know that your cellphone, your laptop or digital camera could be fueling the world's most deadly contemporary war, the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)? For instance, a recent report found that the batteries from Nokia, LG, Motorola, Samsung and possibly Sony Ericsson mobile phones contain cobalt mined in the DRC.

Amnesty International Calls for Action on Sri Lanka

The human rights group Amnesty International warned yesterday that "An all-out massacre is about to take place in Sri Lanka any day now" if the international community did not intervene rapidly to save civilians in the war zone.

Peace is Political

‘Why can’t we just get along?’ This commonly repeated refrain, while seemingly commonsensical, actually hinders the work of building peace in situations of conflict.

We can’t all get along because resource competition, prejudice, racism, bigotry, and insecurity are very real. Someone who is running for their life in Darfur cannot afford to pretend that by hugging the Janjaweed then everyone will be able to live happily ever after. We can’t ‘just all get along’ because conflict is inherent to the human experience.

Conflict is the result of a very real divergence of interests and values. We are in a world constrained by scarcity. Not everyone can have as much water, land, food as they want. As a society we are forced to interact with people who are potential competitors. We must decide whether to negotiate with them or compel them to accept our will.

We resolve these conflicts through politics – the process of discussing, negotiating, managing and neutralizing conflict over interests, values, power and identity. We set up institutions and systems (such as markets, courts, elections) that simplify the distribution of resources and the arbitration of disagreements. 

US National Cluster Munitions Call-In Day

Cluster munitions campaigners in the US are urging Americans to call their senators on 30 March 2009 and ask them to support the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act, S. 416.

This legislation would prohibit the US from using cluster munitions that have more than a 1% failure rate or in civilian areas.  This would help prevent the deadly contamination of conflict zones with dangerous unexploded ‘dud’ bomblets that act like de facto landmines.

Sudanese Government Goes on Offensive against NGOs

In retaliation for the International Criminal Court's indictment of the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur, the Sudanese government has revoked the registration of over a dozen humanitarian agencies operating in the country.  Some of the groups affected include Oxfam GB, CARE, Save the Children UK, the Norwegian Refugee Council, MSF-Netherlands, the International Rescue Committee, Action Against Hunger, CHF International, Mercy Corps and Solidarites.

Millions of Sudanese, especially in the Darfur region, rely on humanitarian assistance, such as food and medical care, from such groups.  Many have been displaced by the fighting in Darfur which the US government has called a genocide.  The decision will also affect over 6000 humanitarian workers.

For reactions from aid workers in Sudan, read this excellent article from AlertNet.

It is still unclear what consequences the indictment will have on the people of Sudan. The International Crisis Group called it a "a welcome and crucial step towards challenging the impunity that has worsened conflict in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan."  However, they also acknowledge that the Sudanese government could use this as an opportunity to "direct, or encourage, violence against the millions of displaced Darfuris living in camps in the war-torn region."

For background on the history of the conflicts in Sudan, see the AlertNet briefing or read the in-depth reports from International Crisis Group. To read an interesting blog about the current crisis, click here.

-Matthew Bolton

Keep Children Off the Battlefield

This video, which in the satirical tradition of Swift's 'A Modest Proposal', calls on people to help child soldiers fight, is rather shocking.  But rather than seeing it as bad taste, it forced me to think about how my complacency actually allows the phenomenon of child soldiers to continue unchallenged -- almost as if I was sending them weapons myself.

Building Peace at the Local Level in Uganda

Negotiators for the Ugandan government waited in vain last week for the illusive rebel leader, Joseph Kony to emerge and sign a peace agreement to end the twenty year civil war in Northern Uganda. Once again, Kony failed to appear, demanding further concessions. However, while Kony continues to stall peace efforts, the people of Uganda have continued to pursue peace amongst themselves.

This week, we travelled to Soroti, in eastern Uganda to meet with an inspiring local organization which is taking peace into its own hands. The Teso Dioceses Development Office (TEDDO) has a peace project  headed by Pastor Sam Eibu which specializes in community-based mediation. Under Eibu’s initiative, a group of one hundred “peace promoters” have been trained to carry out localized conflict resolution and conciliation initiatives in the villages surrounding Soroti.

Long-term Peace and Poverty

A couple weeks ago I went to Northern South Carolina to talk with people about investing in long-term peace. My work, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) sent me there to encourage people to ask their representative to prioritize peace in next year's budget. While I was there, I realized how much long-term peacebuilding and poverty go together. I also realized how much it related to the sustainable solutions that Outreach International works toward.

So what do I mean by investing in long-term peace? FCNL recommends 5 steps that Congress could take to invest in tools that will actually make our world a safer place, instead of increasing conflict. These are: 1) Fund Civilian Peacebuilders; 2) Fund Reconciliation Programs; 3) Full Funding for US Diplomacy (State Department); 4) Fully Fund UN Peacekeeping and Pay $1.2 Billion in Arrears; 5) Double Funding for Development Assistance.