Today we observe Human Rights Day, founded more than half a century ago when the international community declared that respect for human rights and dignity "is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world," and resolved that the horrors of World War II should never be allowed to recur.
But they did. After Hitler, Stalin, and Franco in Europe, there was Mao and Pol Pot in Asia, and Mobutu and Taylor in Africa.
Recognizing that a declaration alone could not guarantee these rights, we created the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals, then the ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone, and finally the International Criminal Court (ICC) in TheHague. Never again, we declared, would world leaders commit mass murder with impunity.
And then there is Darfur--where, since 2003, government-supported militia have left 300,000 dead and 2.7 million people internally displaced. The situation was so dire that in April 2007, Susan Rice, now the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, wrote, "The U.S. should press for a Chapter VII U.N. resolution that issues Sudan an ultimatum: accept unconditional deployment of the U.N. force within one week, or face military consequences . . . If the U.S. fails to gain U.N. support, we should act without it as [we] did in 1999 in Kosovo." The International Criminal Court then issued arrest warrants for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the first for a sitting head of state, and other Sudanese leaders implicated in the atrocities in Darfur.
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Through all of this, we have been waiting and wondering what the outcome would be to save the people of Sudan and help break the cycle of impunity.
The Obama administration recently unveiled its new policy of engagement with Sudan, aimed first at securing the full implementation of the treaty that ended the north-south Sudanese civil war. While the administration maintained it will not deal with al-Bashir or any other official charged with arrest, it has not yet announced any serious moves to enforce the decision of the ICC and execute its warrants.
There will be pressure on the United States and its partners to bring stability to Sudan, even at the expense of criminal accountability. Regardless of the rationale, the end would be the same: victims left without justice while perpetrators walk away.
Even if justice is delayed, it must never be denied. The Declaration of Human Rights did not promise freedom or justice or peace.
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var url = 'http://content.pulse360.com/ECC45BD6-867E-11DE-8C30-D41FEDADD848'; url += '?CommercialNode=' + commercialNode; // NOTE :: The "scr" + "ipt" break is essential, presumably to bypass loose // js/DOM safeguards against doing what we want to do here. document.write('"); var isAuthenticated = false; Discuss Enter Your Comment NWK.widget.CommentsSubmit.form = $('#comment-form'); NWK.widget.CommentsSubmit.init(); placeAd2('comments/'+commercialNode,'88x31|2',false,''); Sponsored by Member Comments Reply Report Abuse Posted By: proud_muslim @ 12/10/2009 2:01:12 PM
Sorry , I meant "can not be an actress"
Reply Report Abuse Posted By: proud_muslim @ 12/10/2009 1:56:17 PM
The most global peace threatener is the United States of America , and if you don't believe me look at the countries devasteted by U.S troops : Irak , Afghanistan , look at the barbarism of Guantanamo and Abu Ghrib . In this article , a failed actress is implicitly encouraging his country to wage a third war against the Sudan , and that meam more bloodshed , more slain U.S. troops , more american widows and more amercan orphans . This woman can be an actress because an actress is supposed to be human not to encourage wars , she is thirsty to blood . The most important thing in this story is that the U.S has lost is capability to wage overseas wars as we have seen in the last years and the next war waged by the U.S will announce the collapse of this country . Thank you for your intrest .
Reply Report Abuse Posted By: sera @ 12/10/2009 12:28:25 PM
I am so proud of Angelina Jolie and her committment to her humanitarian causes. Even when the tabloids can not get enough of her and spread rumors and liesto try and defame her she comes out with a thoughtful and meaningful analysis of the Human Rights conflict facing this nation.
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