In the Blogs

Basketball stars Tracy McGrady, Derek Fisher, Baron Davis, Luol Deng, Etan Thomas, and Jermaine O’Neal have joined together to launch Darfur Dream Team’s Sister Schools Program.  And they have 2 main goals: (1) to provide a quality education to every refugee child from Darfur; and, (2) to develop connections between students from Darfur and the United States and promote mutual understanding.

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Atlanta ONE celebrated International Women’s Day twice in one week –- once at sold-out theatres during the A Powerful Noise Live event on March 5th and again on March 11 at an event at the Mason Murer Gallery to raise awareness about women and poverty.

Atlanta ONE had a unique opportunity to team with the Enough Project and local group Dialogue for an amazing day of events to raise awareness about women and poverty around the world, and especially in the Congo.

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On Wednesday, March 11, in a letter signed by 54 coalition partners, the Save Darfur Coalition implored President Obama to take a stand against President Bashir’s decision to expel 13 international humanitarian aid groups from Sudan.

With this action, the Sudanese government is denying 4.7 million Darfuri citizens of their last remaining lifeline.

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What follows is our roundup of and our take on today’s developments. 

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Dan summarizes some of the reaction to the warrant handed down today by the ICC. (CFR has another good summary here). Essentially, the criticism of the ICC’s decision raises two arguments: (1) that charging Al-Bashir is bad for the “peace process,” and (2) that other people do bad things too, so charging Al-Bashir is tantamount to unfairly singling him out. While it is, of course, not a pre-trial chamber’s job to consider policy consequences, the Security Council will be deciding whether to defer the warrant, and it will properly be primarily concerned with the security implications. Thus, it’s worth considering both primary criticisms. After some thought, I don’t believe either holds up to scrutiny.

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And certainly no snide remarks allowed. 

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The Enough Project issued the following statement in response: 

"The International Criminal Court arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir provides an unprecedented opening, making Sudan's prospects for peace riper than they have been in memory," said John Prendergast, co-founder of the Enough Project. 

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New Jersey Democratic Congressman Donald Payne, who chairs the African Affairs Sub-committee and is one of Congresses' most outspoken Darfur advocate lets loose. "For far too long we have allowed Khartoum to get away with state-sanctioned genocide. This move by the ICC gives hope that the world will no longer look away."

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Today, the International Criminal Court indicted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for a number of war crimes and crimes against humanity, marking the first time a sitting head of state has been subject to an ICC indictment. On a conference call this morning, staff from the Enough Project to End Genocide, including co-founder John Prendergast and executive director John Norris, celebrated the decision. The two analysts argued that the indictment begins a political process that undermines al-Bashir's legitimacy and could empower more moderate members of his governing party to push him into retirement and seek accommodation with the internationally-driven peace process.

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The announcement from the International Criminal Court on the indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on 10 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide is just over an hour away. While many are bracing for a violent backlash from Khartoum, and the possible expulsion of international aid workers from the country, others are expecting a more measured response. Nick Wadhams of Time Magazine writes of mixed messages from Khartoum.

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