Today, March 8, is International Women's Day. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the day's commemoration. It is a time not only for celebration and appreciation, but also reflection of the risks and hardships women face still today.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum today, touring the Museum’s Permanent Exhibition, The Holocaust, and the Museum’s display on contemporary genocide, From Memory to Action.
On February 24, 2011, the Museum held a special event in honor of the life and legacy of the late U.S. Representative Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress. In his remarks, featured speaker Vice President Joseph Biden spoke about the United States' current approach to genocide prevention. He credited the Genocide Prevention Task Force--convened by the Museum with the U.S. Institute of Peace and The American Academy of Diplomacy--for making genocide prevention "an integral part of our national security apparatus."
Vice President Joe Biden was the featured speaker at a special event yesterday at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in honor of the life and legacy of the late U.S. Representative Tom Lantos.
Twenty five years ago, on February 19, 1986, the US Senate ratified the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. But this ratification was not easily accomplished. Nor was it a foregone conclusion.
On February 7, 2011, Sudanese authorities released the final results of the near-unanimous vote for southern independence from the North, and President Bashir reiterated his commitment to respect the South’s decision. The process was largely peaceful and well-organized, an important achievement given Sudan’s recent history of war, but its conduct also raised questions about the political challenges that now await Southern Sudan. Jort Hemmer, of the Conflict Research Unit in the Netherlands, observes:
Yesterday afternoon, David Kato, a prominent Ugandan gay rights activist, was beaten to death in his home near the capital, Kampala. His death comes four months after his picture, name, and home address—along with similar information for several other people—were published on the front page of a local tabloid under the headline “Hang Them.”
In an op-ed for Politico, the Museum's Mike Abramowitz and Mark Hanis, president of the Genocide Intervention Network / Save Darfur Coalition, offer some reflections to mark this year's International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
As the political standoff in Côte d’Ivoire enters its seventh week, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) issued a second statement on Wednesday about human rights violations in the aftermath of disputed presidential elections. “We remain gravely concerned about the possibility of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and ethnic cleansing in Côte d’Ivoire. We believe that urgent steps should be taken, in line with the 'responsibility to protect', to avert the risk of genocide and ensure the protection of those at risk of mass atrocities,” the statement said.
This past weekend, referendum voting on the future of Southern Sudan came to a peaceful and orderly close. Although final results are not expected until mid-February, early returns suggest overwhelming support for independence.