It’s four years ago today since “Dr. John” as he was referred to by all the Southerners I knew at the time, was killed in a helicopter accident (an incident officially cleared of “suspicious circumstances” – yet suspicions remain). Like all who are taken from us before their time, there has been a tendency since […]
Archives for July 2009
Fighting to keep genocide out of the Bashir arrest warrant
July 28, 2009 by 3 Comments
High profile international lawyers Sir Geoffrey Nice QC and Rodney Dixon have once again applied on behalf of the groups, the Sudan Workers Trade Unions Federation (SWTUF) and the Sudan International Defence Group (SIDG), to submit an amicus brief to the ICC in the Bashir case. Their first attempt to do this earlier in the […]
UNDPKO briefing: “We are in many ways no closer to a solution . . .”
July 27, 2009 by 1 Comment
On Friday morning, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Alain Le Roy, briefed the UN Security Council in New York during their 6170th meeting. His briefing covered the progress of UNAMID deployment (five battalion and five infantry companies arriving in the coming months; nine of the proposed eleven formed police units to be deployed by the […]
Who does the oil belong to?
July 26, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Following up on my last post regarding the ongoing contestation of the Heglig oilfield following the Abyei decision, this piece was sent to me by a friend of a friend that I first worked with in South Sudan five years ago. Garang Kuot Kuot works at the Council of Ministers, Northern Bahr El-Ghazal State, and […]
Abyei decision: As “politics as usual” sets in . . .
July 23, 2009 by 3 Comments
Twenty-four hours after the fact, the initially rosy press bites on the Abyei decision are starting to take on a tinge of gray. Immediately after the ruling, the GOS delegate to the PCA tribunal in The Hague said “We welcome the fact that the oil fields are now excluded from the Abyei area, particularly the […]
Abyei: The “let’s avoid war” decision
July 22, 2009 by 4 Comments
Today the ad hoc tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague handed down what reads to me like a “let’s avoid war” decision on the contested Abyei area; it gives both the SPLM/A and the GOS something they can claim as a victory. The tribunal’s first task, under the terms of the […]
The Abyei ruling: what it’s about & why it matters
July 20, 2009 by 3 Comments
This coming Wednesday, July 22, a tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, will render its decision on the dispute between the Government of Sudan (GOS) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) over the boundaries of the Abyei area. The decision – regardless of what it is – is anticipated to […]
So you think you’re busy?
July 18, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Mr. Wane has quite a job, as the Acting Head of the African Union Conflict Management Centre. Immaculately dressed in a slate-grey suit, he was finishing a meeting with a staffer as I was coming in. I have met a lot of busy people in my time, but he may just take the cake. Over […]
Palgrave Macmillan to publish The Promise of Engagement
July 17, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Hi everyone With thanks to Robert at Sterling Lord Literistic, I have just accepted with Palgrave Macmillan* for world-wide English rights. In their words they are “a cross-market publisher specializing in cutting edge academic and trade non-fiction titles. Our list consists of top authors ranging from academics making original contributions in their disciplines to trade […]
Beyond the “g-word”
Following some comments I made in a previous post, David Scheffer, law professor and director of the Center for International Human Rights at Northwestern University School of Law, and the U.S. Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues (1997-2001), writes about the utility of advocates using the “atrocity crimes” terminology in Darfur. Atrocity Crimes in […]