On July 30, the Museum updated its Google Earth initiative Crisis in Darfur with the latest U.S. Department of State data that sheds new light on the extent of the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. It confirms that most villages were destroyed between 2003 and 2005, during the height of the brutal Sudanese government-backed campaign targeting civilians in Darfur.
In July 2004, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum declared a “genocide emergency” in Darfur, Sudan. This week, after extensive research and an assessment of conditions on the ground, the Museum is changing its categorization of conditions in Sudan to a “genocide warning” for the entire country.
A journalist, activist, and researcher for Memorial (external link), Usam Baysaev was a close friend of Natasha Estemirova. In "Too Soon, Again" (external link), an article for The New Republic, Baysaev mourns his friend's death. After a decade of putting herself at great risk to defend human rights in Chechnya, Estemirova was kidnapped and murdered on July 15, 2009. Baysaev writes:
On July 30, the Museum updated its Google Earth initiative Crisis in Darfur with the latest U.S. Department of State data that sheds new light on the extent of the genocide in Darfur.
On the morning of July 15, 2009, Natalya Estemirova was abducted near her home in Grozny, Chechnya. As people on a nearby balcony heard her call for help, Estemirova was forced into a car. Her body was found a few hours later near a highway in the neighboring republic of Ingushetia.
On July 22, 2009, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague delivered the final ruling on the boundary dispute over Abyei, an oil rich region claimed by both north and south Sudan. In May 2008, fighting in Abyei between the north and south resulted in the displacement of 50,000 people and destroyed the town. Today's ruling by the Court determined that several areas—including the Heglig oilfield—were not part of Abyei. Inhabitants of areas that are within the newly established borders have the right to vote on a referendum in 2011 on whether they want to be permanently a part of north or south Sudan. Both Sudanese parties have agreed to abide by the Court's decision.
Tomorrow, July 11, marks the anniversary of the start of the 1995 genocide at Srebrenica. On this day, newly identified remains are reburied at the Srebrenica Potocari Memorial and Cemetery.
This week, President Obama nominated Stephen Rapp to become ambassador at large for war crimes issues. As a prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Rapp led a landmark case against three Rwandan journalists charged with and found guilty of genocide, direct and public incitement to genocide, and other crimes. In 2006, Rapp left the ICTR to become the prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. His nomination as ambassador awaits confirmation by the Senate.
Not long ago, a Chechen man named Nazir was visited by armed men in camouflage uniforms who gathered boards to start a bonfire alongside his home. Realizing what was about to happen, Nazir pleaded, "Why do I have to pay for the crimes of my relatives over whom I have no influence? But if this has been decided, I can't do anything about it. However, please listen to me. My roof touches my neighbor's roof. If you start burning my house, the fire will spread over to my neighbor's house." Considering the problem, the armed men patiently called a contractor to come separate the roofs before they set fire to Nazir's house. There was no doubt that they acted with deliberation and impunity.
Last week, communities around the world observed World Refugee Day in order to draw attention to the plight of the 42 million refugees today who have been forced to flee their homes because of conflict, persecution, or natural disasters. Among the most vulnerable populations in the world, refugees often lack access to clean water, food, sanitation, shelter, and health care.