news george clooney white house 131010

http://allafrica.com/SUDAN

www.satsentinel.org/take_action

http://notonourwatchproject.org

http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com

www.eyesondarfur.org

Sudan (Listeni /suːˈdæn/), officially the Republic of Sudan, is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and the Arab world, and tenth largest in the world by area. The people of Sudan have a long history extending from antiquity which is intertwined with the history of Egypt, with which it was united politically over several periods. After gaining independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom in 1956, Sudan suffered 17 years of civil war followed by ethnic, religious and economic conflicts between the Northern Sudanese (with Arab and Nubian roots), and the Christian and animist Nilotes of Southern Sudan.This led to a second civil war in 1983, and due to continuing political and military struggles, Sudan was seized in a bloodless coup d’état by colonel Omar al-Bashir in 1989, who thereafter proclaimed himself President of Sudan.

Sudan then achieved great economic growth by implementing macroeconomic reforms and finally ended the civil war by adopting a new constitution in 2005 with rebel groups in the south, granting them limited autonomy to be followed by a referendum about independence in 2011. Rich in natural resources such as petroleum and crude oil, Sudan’s economy is currently amongst the fastest growing in the world. The People’s Republic of China and Japan are the main export partners of Sudan. Read More: > HERE <

Who we are – Our mission is to focus global attention and resources towards putting an end to mass atrocities around the world. Drawing upon the powerful voices of artists, activists, and cultural leaders, Not On Our Watch generates lifesaving humanitarian assistance and protection for the vulnerable, marginalized, and displaced. We encourage governing bodies to take meaningful, immediate action to protect those in harm’s way. Where governments remain complacent, Not On Our Watch is committed to stopping mass atrocities and giving voice to their victims. Founders: Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, David Pressman, Jerry Weintraub

A Message From George Clooney and John Prendergast – A new state is being born in Southern Sudan against a backdrop of decades of war between the South and North of Sudan. A peace deal in 2005 ended the latest round of open conflict, but the possibility of a return to war remains high as Southern Sudan prepares for independence.

One of the biggest risks in this dangerous moment is that an incident on the highly armed border could lead to wider conflict. The government in Khartoum has armed militias in contested bordering regions, the government air force has bombed border areas, and both sides have massed military units and equipment along the hottest border spots.

These areas have witnessed some of the most deadly conflict in the world since World War II. The former director of national intelligence says that Southern Sudan is the place in the world most likely to experience genocide.

We can’t allow another deadly war, and we surely cannot stand by in the face of a genocide threat.

capitalism

Soon, the people of Southern Sudan will vote for independence, placing millions of civilians in the potential path of war. George Clooney and the Enough Project recently spent time in Sudan along the border between the north and south and saw what a return to war could look like. This video from the trip highlights the challenges Sudan faces as it works toward holding a peaceful referendum and avoiding a return to civil war. It’s not inevitable. We can stop this war before it starts. Visit www.SudanActionNow.org to find out more.

We were late to Rwanda. We were late to the Congo. We were late to Darfur. There is no time to wait. With your support, we will swiftly call the world to witness and respond. We aim to provide an ever more effective early-warning system: better, faster visual evidence and on-the-ground reporting of human rights concerns to facilitate better, faster responses.

This is why we have launched the Satellite Sentinel Project. There has never been a sustained effort to systematically monitor potential hot spots and threats to human security, in near real-time, with the aim of heading off humanitarian disaster and war crimes before they occur.

Previously, when mass atrocities occurred in Darfur, the Government of Sudan denied its involvement. Since photographers could not get access, it took years to amass evidence of genocide. But now we can witness in near real-time and put all parties on notice that if they commit war crimes, we will all be watching, and pressuring policymakers to take action.

We want to cast a spotlight – literally – on the hot spots along the border to record any actions that might escalate the chances of conflict. We hope that if many eyes are on the potential spoilers, we can all help detect, deter and interdict actions that could lead to a return to deadly violence. At the very least, if war crimes do occur, we’ll have plenty of evidence of the actions of the perpetrators to share with the International Criminal Court and the UN Security Council.

The world is watching because you are watching. This is our opportunity to prevent a war, to deter genocide. Make your voice heard. Click here to take action in support of peace in Sudan.

sudan_pipelines

> BBC  INTERACTIVE MAP <

http://www.oilwatchafrica.org

Sudan: A country divided* Geography* Ethnic groups* Infant mortality* Water & sanitation* Education* Food insecurity* Oil fields – Sudan: One country or two? Sudan – Africa’s biggest country – seems to be on the verge of splitting in two. Southerners will vote on Sunday whether or not to leave the north. They are widely expected to vote for independence. These maps show the extent to which Sudan is already two nations – a richer, Arabic-speaking, Muslim north and a poorer south devastated by years of conflict and neglect.

Sudan ’needs clearer oil-sharing deal‘ Oil facility in Southern Sudan (file image) Most of Sudan’s oil is produced in the south, but exported through the north Sudan needs to have greater transparency over its oil revenues to help preserve peace in the region, according to a new report.

Campaign organisation Global Witness says suspicions over how revenues have been shared have added greatly to mistrust between north and south. The report comes ahead of Sunday’s referendum on southern independence.

Most of Sudan’s oil comes from wells in the south but the infrastructure remains in the north. The current oil-sharing accord between the two shares the revenues roughly 50:50.

In its report, Global Witness says the two sides need to agree a more transparent deal to replace the existing one, which is due to expire at the end of the month.

Full Article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12125242

* Sudan’s Miracle Commodity – The Acacia Senegal tree grows all over Africa and even on the Indian subcontinent. Most of the world’s gum arabic, however, comes from Sudan, where a thick belt of Acacia Senegal trees stretches from one end of Sudan to the other. Hassan Osman Abdel Nour is the general manager of Sudan’s largest exporter of gum arabic, the Gum Arabic Company.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cash_crop

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_senegal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gum_arabic

http://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jatropha

http://www.commoditywatch.in/

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www.globalwitness.org

www.makepovertyhistory.org

http://pipelinesinternational.com

http://www.genocidewatch.org

http://www.jihadwatch.org

http://still4hill.wordpress.com/sudan

http://www.developmentwatch.net

http://farmlandgrab.org

http://www.hg.org/environ.html

www.ohchr.org/HRDay2010

Human Rights Day 2010