Enough and YouTube Launch Video Contest: "Come Clean 4 Congo"

The Enough Project joined with YouTube to launch the Come Clean 4 Congo video contest, asking individuals to create compelling video messages that highlight the link between "conflict minerals" used in cell phones and the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - the deadliest since World War II. The creator of the winning video will be flown to Los Angeles for a screening of their video at an entertainment industry event. Judges for the contest are Oscar-nominated actor Ryan Gosling, actress Sonya Walger from ABC's "Lost," and Oscar-nominated director Wim Wenders. Enough is the first non-profit featured in YouTube's "Video for Change" initiative.

Visit the contest page at http://www.youtube.com/ENOUGHProject
Check out videos from celebrity activists including Saffron Burrows, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Sandra Oh, Mary Louise Parker, Nicole Richie, and Brooke Smith. These videos have been viewed over 130,000 times this week alone.

The Congo Conflict Minerals Act of 2009
Enough and Global Witness, a campaign to halt the abusive expoitation of natural resources, released a statement in support of the Senate bill on conflict minerals co-sponsored by Senators Durbin, Brownback, and Feingold. Read more about Enough's take on the bill in our blog.

Congo Advocacy Coalition on Civilian Protection in Congo
A coalition of 68 aid and human rights groups issued a statement calling on the U.N. Security Council, which began a trip to Congo earlier this week, to press for urgent action to protect civilians.

A Comprehensive Approach to Congo's Conflict Minerals
Read the latest strategy paper on conflict minerals by the Enough Team and the Grassroots Reconciliation Group.

Learn more ways to take action against conflict minerals

Congressional Black Caucus Joins Darfur Fast for Life

The Congressional Black Caucus held a press conference yesterday with Darfur Fast for Life founder Mia Farrow.

Yesterday, Enough Advisor Omer Ismail joined 16 members of the Congressional Black Caucus for a press conference to announce their participation in a fast in solidarity with Darfuri people. Actress/activist Mia Farrow, founder of the Darfur Fast for Life fasting chain to encourage President Obama to take action on Darfur, also attended. Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) noted that 'this is our small way of saying to Darfuris that they are not alone, they are not forgotten, and we stand with them." Visit www.fastdarfur.org for news, updates, and information about joining this fasting chain that has attracted participants in 30 countries.

Beyond Piracy: Next Steps to Stabilize Somalia

Susan Rice

The Obama administration must not allow the politics of the piracy problem to distract it from putting in place a long-term strategy to help Somalis forge a state that can fight piracy, promote reconciliation, and combat terrorism, says Enough's new strategy paper on Somalia. One of the report's authors, Davidson College Professor Ken Menkhaus, testified today before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Finishing the Fight Against the Lord's Resistance Army

"Operation Lightning Thunder," last December's U.S.-supported military action against the Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA, sparked harsh reprisals by the LRA against civilians in Congo. A new Enough strategy paper by field researchers Julia Spiegel and Noel Atama argues that the U.S. should take the lead now in supporting a new Ugandan military operation by providing solid planning, intelligence, coordination, and logisitical support, and by making civilian protection an absolute imperative. Julia Spiegel was quoted in a Newsweek magazine article about the LRA's notorious leader, Joseph Kony. Click here to read Hard Target: The Hunt for Africa's Last Warlord.

Activities, Actions, Advocacy

If you missed the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode, "Hell," that dramatized the plight of former Ugandan "child soldiers" from the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group, you can catch it in reruns on NBC on June 13 and July 18.
Wear your support for the Enough Project. Click here to order our gray T-shirts from Dialogue. The shirts feature Enough's distinctive exclamation-point logo and a stylized map of Africa in our signature orange color. Fifteen percent of the profits will be donated to Enough.
Follow us on Twitter! Keep up to date by following 'Enoughproject'.

Upcoming Events

June 7-10, 2009
The New Face of Genocide in the 21st Century, conference, Arlington, VA
June 10, 2009
Connect U.S. Community Meeting, Washington, D.C.
June 12, 2009
The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court, film screening, New York, NY

(Click here for details on the Enough Project's events page.)

The Honorable Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues, and Enough Co-founder John Prendergast recently addressed the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations at a hearing on rape and other forms of violence against women in Sudan and Congo. Read more about the hearing and watch a video here. Read a blog by playwright Eve Ensler, who also testified, here.

Enough's Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program to support schools in refugee camps was recently featured in a profile of NBA star Tracy McGrady [pictured above visiting Chad] on ESPN's Sports Center. Watch the video here. Photo credit: Josh Rothstein

From Our Blog

Policy Advisor Colin Thomas-Jensen writes:

Somalia right now is the worst place in the world. As Somali civilians cling to survival on the streets of Mogadishu, they need to know that there are people out there fighting on their behalf.

Policy Assistant Rebecca Brocato comments on the arrests of journalists in Zimbabwe:

The world continues to look for hard evidence that democracy building extends beyond a rhetorical dedication, and politically-motivated detentions are no way to show the world you are on the path to democracy and transparency.

Quotes of the Week

Sustained support for the reform of key Congolese institutions, especially in the security sector, is the only long-term cure for Congo's dysfunction.

Enough Project Executive Director John Norris, in a Guardian op-ed, Congo's Electronic Blood Diamonds.

We travel regularly to towns controlled by the rebels where the fear on the faces of local residents is jarring. Among a catalogue of abuses, they are responsible for some of the most vicious acts of sexual violence we have ever encountered.

Policy Advisor Colin Thomas-Jensen and field researcher Rebecca Feeley, in a Huffington Post blog, The Next Catastrophe in the Congo.

Enough in the News

"U.S. Congress Moving to Track 'Conflict Minerals'" Inter Press Service article quoting David Sullivan

"Peace in Darfur - One Step Forward, Two Steps Back" IRIN article quoting Colin Thomas-Jensen

From the Center for American Progress, National Security Weekly

A new policy report on global development and sustainable security notes "three principal problems that a foreign assistance program will have to overcome to institute successful, sustainable development." These include lack of youth employment, political fragility, and armed conflict. Click here to read "A National Strategy for Global Development" by Reuben Brigety and Sabina Dewan.

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Enough is a project of the Center for American Progress to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Founded in 2007, Enough focuses on the crises in Sudan, Chad, eastern Congo, northern Uganda, Somalia and Zimbabwe. Enough's strategy papers and briefings provide sharp field analysis and targeted policy recommendations based on a "3P" crisis response strategy: promoting durable peace, providing civilian protection, and punishing perpetrators of atrocities. Enough works with concerned citizens, advocates, and policy makers to prevent, mitigate, and resolve these crises. To learn more about Enough and what you can do to help, go to www.enoughproject.org.