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 […]
AU Commission reacts to civil society support for ICC Bashir case
July 17, 2009 by 1 Comment
Following a flurry of media reports indicating that some South African civil society organizations want President Zuma to distance himself from last week’s AU decision to oppose the arrest warrant for President al-Bashir, as well as a poll released yesterday indicating that the general public in some countries is not as opposed to the Bashir […]
Gacaca decision
July 16, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Earlier this month I attended an all-day Gacaca court appeal by former sous Préfet Béatrice Nirere against her conviction on genocide charges leading to a sentence of life imprisonment with “special conditions” (isolation). As I commented, during the first day of the appeal the case against her consisted primarily of hearsay evidence, if that. With […]
Aid expulsions: Are we missing the real story?
July 15, 2009 by 5 Comments
Fellow bloggers over at Change.org have been running a couple of posts trying to get at the thorny question of just what the impact of the NGO expulsions has been on the provision of aid in Darfur. It’s been a question of intrigue ever since US Special Envoy, Scott Gration, came out with a strange […]
Rob Crilly: The Analysis is the Problem
July 14, 2009 by 4 Comments
Rob Crilly is a British journalist I met in Nairobi. He has spent the past five years covering Darfur, and has his first book coming out later this year, entitled Saving Darfur: Everyone’s Favourite African War. He and I disagree on several things (the value of the ICC for instance) and he, like many, has […]
Alex Meixner: Ongoing recalibration
Following a series of posts by Tim Nonn and Rob Crilly, today’s contribution comes from Alex Meixner – Senior Director for Policy and Government Relations at Save Darfur. In this quite lengthy post, Meixner deals with the question of how U.S.-based advocates can maintain political strength, as well as the policy question of what that […]