Welcome to the June 29, 2014 edition of this Peace&Justice action email!
This issue deals with the horrible escalation of violence in Darfur and the rest of Sudan, as well as the Egyptian’s court refusal to rectify its original sham trial resulting in the mass sentencing of hundreds of people to death.
In addition you will find articles on the global groundwater crisis, the current global country index, and a new campaign to counter the notion that homosexuality can by “cured” via therapy.
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END ABHORRENT VIOLENCE IN SUDAN AND SOUTH SUDAN
The March newsletter raised the alarm bell regarding Darfur – the repugnant dynamics are back (see: Current Status [UntilAll]). Under the new guise called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), villages were again being razed, people killed or displaced, all linked back to Khartoum. Recently even the New York Times highlighted the same abhorrent violence [‘Sudan Said to Revive Notorious Militias’, {requires registration}]. The violence also extends to previously noted areas in the Nuba mountains, and on both sides of the Sudan-South Sudan border areas. Pockets of famine and genocidal targeting are threatening both countries and the intensifying conflicts are pulling in neighboring states.
The advocacy group, Enough, now has the following action to help reinvigorate diplomatic actions to address the escalation of violence. The U.S. has had a major stake in this area for years, helping to broker the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between North and South Sudan, as well as being involved in trying to end the Darfur conflict, mottled as some say those efforts were. The action also calls for full international reengagement (for non-US citizens, consider also forwarding this to your government).
Take Action (open to everyone):
Ask U.S. Government to Reinvigorate Sudan Diplomacy [Enough]
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EGYPT FOLLOW-UP: STOP THE MASS EXECUTIONS
This newsletter previously recommended action to tell the Egyptian courts to stop the mass execution of over 500 people. The courts proceeded, and appeals to both the court and the government have thus far had little or no impact. Amnesty International considers the proceedings to be nothing short of a complete “travesty of justice.” Thus they have initiated the following campaign to continue the pressure for a fair trial, which also includes a demand that the three Al Jazeera journalists be freed..
Take Action:
Tell Egypt to Stop Mass Executions [Amnesty International]
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=== ARTICLES OF INTEREST ===
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Global Map of “Groundwater Footprint” and Stress
As has been highlighted here and elsewhere, water will likely become a major global tension-point in coming decades. We can see change in rivers, lakes and glaciers. But for the first time we now have a map of the stresses being put on something we can’t see – groundwater levels. In many ways this is even more ominous. The following article, from McGill University and published in Nature, highlights a tool to start measuring the use (sustainable or not) of groundwater throughout the world. It suggests that “groundwater footprint” may soon have the same coinage as “carbon footprint.”
Article and Actual Map of Global Groundwater Usage [McGill University]
The 2014 Fragile States Index
Each year the Fund for Peace calculates its Fragile States Index which is published by Foreign Policy. This newsletter again presents the annual data, which can make for interesting analysis of what is considered worthy of indexing and how the results are highlighted.
2014 Fragile States Index [Foreign Policy]
New Campaign to End Gay Conversion Therapy
This newsletter has previously indicated the danger of “conversion or reparative therapy”, which is the notion that through therapy homosexual activity can be “cured”. The medical community has abandoned such notions years ago. And while some places have formally banned the practice (for example, the states of California and New Jersey in the US) it remains a topic of controversy. Thus a new campaign has been launched to take direct aim at such notions.
New Campaign to End Gay Conversion Therapy [TIME]
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