'Just World News' with Helena Cobban

Moreno-Ocampo and the future of the ICC

The International Criminal Court started its work in 2002 with great fanfare and expectations. The hopes of its many supporters around the world (but concentrated particularly in rich western countries)...

ICC showboat Moreno-Ocampo, and Darfur

What is the ICC's showboating Chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo up to regarding Darfur? I admit I haven't been watching either the ICC or the Darfur situation quite closely enough in...

Darfur & the need for care in reporting casualty tolls (again)

The NYT had an informative and very thoughtful op-ed in today, by Sam Dealey, described as a writer on Africa for Time. He noted that on Wednesday, Britain's Advertising Standards...

Darfuris getting saved

Yesterday's NYT had a fascinating piece of reporting (also here) by Jeffrey Gettleman, datelined from "Artala, Sudan". As he makes clear, Artala is located in south-western Darfur-- and the story...

Prunier on Darfur

I have a lot of respect for Gerard Prunier, a French Africanist with broad knowledge of the recent history of central and eastern Africa. I thought his 1995 book The...

More on Darfur death tolls

A few readers have challenged what I wrote here recently, when I challenged Ruth Messinger's claim that "Half a million people are dead and 3.5 million are displaced" as a...

Darfur: the casualties

Estimating the casualties in a situation of inter-group conflict and mass mayhem is always difficult. But in a letter in today's NYT, Ruth Messinger, the Executive Director of American Jewish...

Countering Darfur's anti-humane rebels

There was a significant op-ed on Darfur in the NYT today. It's by Alan J. Kuperman, who was once Legislative Director for sen. Charles Schumer-- and in it, Kuperman directly...

Darfur peace deadline Wednesday

May 31 is a deadline for the parties to the fighting in Darfur to sign onto the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA), that was concluded in Abuja, Nigeria, on May 5....

Challenges of peacebuilding in Darfur (and all of Sudan)

Just to record how glad I am that the main focus of international attention and activism regarding Darfur has shifted from one-sided finger-pointing to problem-solving... And specifically to the massive,...

Emily Wax's 5 truths about Darfur

Eight days ago on that Sunday I was still reeling from my recent trip to Jordan, dealing with my chaotic travel home from Philadelphia, etc., and come to think of...

Truly saving the people of Darfur

Let us first focus our energies on making sure that we and our governments are doing all we can to get literally life-saving basic humanitarian aid to the people of...

Darfur: negotiators close to peace agreement?

African Union mediators who have been convening peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria, between representatives of the Sudanese government and the two main Darfuri opposition groups have put forward a draft...

Darfur: peacemaking or partisan finger-pointing?

The NYT reported today that the UN Security Council yesterday voted to impose personalized sanctions on four named individuals suspected of involvement in the atrocities in Darfur. Interestingly, the four...

Peace in Darfur?

A glimmer of real hope regarding the situation in Darfur! I just got an email from those great peacemakers at the Catholic lay organization Sant' Egidio to say that after...