On Monday, the International Criminal Court at the Hague, Netherlands, announced that they will issue an arrest warrant for the Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir. This will be the first time in history that such an action has ever been taken against a head of state still in office. The only reason an announcement has been made preceding the actual announcement of the warrant is because prosecutors fear attacks against peacekeepers and aid workers. They hope the a warning will give the foreigners time to prepare themselves for an increase in violent attacks. The warrant will be issued concerning alleged genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. It will include charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide. Bashir has denied any involvement in the incidents.

The cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe is become more destructive by the day. Since August, the disease has killed 780 people and sickened a total of 16,000 people. Health officials say that approximately 6 million people, roughly half of the country's population, is at risk for the disease. However, President Robert Mugabe has claimed that the epidemic has ended. Mugabe's government has badly mismanaged the country's economy, which has caused the basic public services to have to shut down. Services like water, sanitation, and hospitals are decreasing in number. Inflation in Zimbabwe has reached 8 quintillion percent according to some economists. Mugabe continues to hold on to power despite strong opposition and calls for his resignation. As he clutches to his office, the situation in the country worsens every day, and, now, even his soldiers have begun to riot against his government.

In Niger, what resembles a civil war has broken out between the government and a band of nomads over ownerships of massive reserves of uranium. As the world's choice of energy source has begun to shift towards alternative energy, nuclear power has become one of the most popular selections. Whoever controls the uranium in Niger has the potential to make a very significant amount of money. The country itself is already extremely destitute. One in five children die before turning five. In the north, where the rebels reside, the situation is even worse. The government has isolated the areas of fighting, which has crushed their economy. In Niger, of you don't have government connections, it is highly unlikely you will be successful. Hundreds have been killed and thousands have been displaced by the fighting.

If the Hague lives up to its word and actually pursues the criminal charges leveled against Omar al-Bashir, it will be a great day for the people of Sudan. For too long has the west been inactive about the Sudanese situation, and it is great to see some sort of plan being put into effect. The question whether the Hague will actually act on the warrant, or if it will behave like the UN and condemn the atrocities, but do nothing effective to stop them.

As for Zimbabwe, it is beyond repair. The only option now is for a new government to take control and start from the ground up. It is despicable the Mugabe continues to deny the epidemic and ignore the pleas for his resignation. Even for a dictator, when inflation reaches 8 quintillion percent and hospitals and sewage systems are shutting down, an alarm has to be ringing. Drastic action needs to be taken to save this country from itself.

The situation in Niger just appears to be worsening, and that will only continue. How the government can afforded to cut off parts of its already dismal economy should be beyond anyone. Sharing the uranium deposits would be the ideal situation, but that will not happen. While obstinancy on both sides continues, more people will die and more will be displaced. It is the beginning of the Darfurian conflict all over again.

Keeping Tabs on Genocide and Human Rights

In Cambodia, the trial for Kaing Guk Eav, a.k.a. Duch, has begun. Duch was the commander of the Tuol Sleng prison where 14,000 people lost their lives between 1975 and 1979. Duch is the first of the major Khmer Rouge officials to be tried for crimes against humanity. Around 1.7 million people were killed during that four-year period. At Tuol Sleng people were not innocent, but presumed guilty and were tortured until their captors received the information they wanted or decided to kill them. Ironically, just as the trial is set to get underway, the lawyers for the defense are attempting to stall the trial in the name of human rights abuses to the accused. There a few survivors who added a civil lawsuit into the mix, and one of them missed the deadline by a couple days. The defense claims that Duch is a man, and although he has taken responsibility for his actions, deserves a fair trial.

On November 4, a group of rebel soldiers from the army of former General Laurent Nkunda, massacred around 150 people in Kiwanja, Democratic Republic of Congo. The soldiers killed any young man or boy left in the town after they had ordered an evacuation using brutal, execution-style methods. Only now has the full story of the events come to light. Nkunda’s Lieutenant, Jean Bosco Ntaganda, led the soldiers. And despite the fact that there are U.N. Peacekeepers in close proximity, the citizens received no help. The Peacekeepers do have a mandate to protect the citizens from harm. According to Lt. Col. Brar, the leader of the peacekeepers, the force was overwhelmed, and could not reach the location. He said that they were faced with language barriers, and weapons that could pierce the armor of their vehicles making it too dangerous to proceed. According to the article, the peacekeepers, for various reasons, had no idea the massacre had occurred until it was all over.

Elsewhere, in Sudan, the Sudanese government and the main rebel opposition to the government have agreed to hold peace talks in a huge step towards peace in this war-torn country. The group, the Justice and Equality Movement, signed an accord in hopes of reaching a final agreement within three months. The two sides also agreed to allow the flow of humanitarian aid, to stop harassing displaced citizens, and to exchange prisoners. Although the government has agreed to talks, the JEM still does not believe that they are serious about ending the violence. The government has continued to send troops into the Darfur region of the country. The last time there were peace negotiations held were in 2006 and the JEM refused to cooperate, but now it seems they wish to establish themselves a credible negotiators.

Overall, it has been a progressive week for curbing human rights abuse. It looks as if there is hope on the horizon for the ongoing genocide in Sudan, and the first of five trials of the crazed Khmer Rouge officials is under way. However, abuse elsewhere continues to run rampant, specifically in Africa. The incident in DRC is somewhat reminiscent of the situation in Rwanda in 1994, where the U.N. Peacekeepers were hugely outnumbered and basically were forced to stand by while massacres took place. International statutes bind the forces from physically intervening during certain events.

I’m also shocked that the trials of the officials of the Khmer Rouge have just begun, twenty years after the violence ended. It angers me that it has taken so long for the people responsible for these atrocities have escaped punishment for so long. What was the delay? However, it’s better late than never. I also agree with the defense attorney. While I feel for the survivor, the law must be adhered to. It is important to the validity of the trial for the proper procedure to be followed.

The  situation in Sudan has taken a positive turn. The fact that the main rebel group is seeking peace talks with the government is a great sign. Regardless of who is responsible for the conflict, each side needs to take steps towards ending the violence. However, there are many different factions of rebels that operate in the Darfur region and it is critical for them to be involved in the talks for a final peace to be reached. One group won’t do the trick.

 

 

In his article Think Again: Climate Change, Bill McKibben argues that the time for disputing global warming has long since passed. Scientists from all over the world (including the IPCC and President George W. Bush’s scientific advisors) agree that global warming is a reality. The trouble is, according to McKibben, now that the science has been established, it may be a little too late. McKibben provides scientific evidence of the events facing our planet. He creates a timeline for changes that must be made in order to prevent catastrophe. Only some of these goals may not be feasible. He goes further to debunk theories that global warming may actually help some regions of the earth, and insists that China is not to blame. Basically, McKibben calls for the end of the incessant squabbling over the existence and exact consequences of climate change, and pleads for our politicians to act immediately.

Meanwhile, the Oil Minister of Saudi Arabia, Ali al-Naimi, said Tuesday that while searching for alternative fuel sources is important for the future, it could be dangerous to speed up the process. The new presidential administration is encouraging America to find alternative fuel sources and to diversify in order to prevent a dependence on foreign oil. Mr. Naimi maintains that an over optimistic view of the success of renewable fuels can threaten the investments in traditional fuel sources. The world could face another blow to an already staggering global economy “if alternative energy supplies fail to meet overly optimistic expectations, while traditional energy suppliers scale back investment due to expectations of declining demand for their products.” Because the success of alternative energy sources cannot be pre-determined, there must be a plan that is all-inclusive.

At the same conference, Chief Executives of the major incorporated oil companies, such as BP and ExxonMobil, have committed themselves to working with President Obama on implementing policies to address global warming. In Houston, The executives stated that they would like to limit emissions and increase energy efficiency and the development of alternative fuels. However, they maintained that this will take time, and that the country will still need oil for quite some time. Therefore, they are pushing the Obama administration to allow an increase in offshore drilling. Some of the executives went so far as to make suggestions as how to limit carbon emissions. Michael Dolan of Exxon suggested a tax on carbon, whereas Jeroen van der Veer, Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell, suggests a cap-and-trade system would be the best plan. The cap-and-trade system would limit the amount of carbon that could be emitted in the atmosphere per year and companies would be allowed to trade to that limit.

All three of articles have shown a constant theme: something must be done to counter the effects of the climate change. The question of the existence of global warming is not as prevalent as it once was. People are now coming to a consensus. Now that the major incorporated’s have agreed to work with the President, steps can be made towards reaching that goal. While it is vastly important to explore alternative energy sources, it is equally important to preserve the fuel sources we have now. There is no question that developing renewable fuel will take time, and to completely disregard the traditional fuel sources would be foolish. Until we can be sure of the success of alternative fuel, we must be cautious of abandoning our oil investments.