CBC members are (for the most part) fasting for Darfur

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus say they want President Obama to make the crisis in Darfur a top priority, and to show that they mean business they are fasting for the cause.

Well, the fast will be limited. On a rotating basis, that is. Actually, each person will fast for up to a few days at a time. And just through Congress’ adjournment in August.

Way to be tough. Yep. That should do it.

If you want to fast for Darfur, and for longer than a few days, go to Darfur Fast For Life.

Let’s support human rights in Darfur

I’ve intended to write this post for a while. I think I’ve been avoiding it because I never knew where to begin, and thinking of Darfur makes me want to scream.

But, as I've been saying for the past few days, today is International Human Rights Day and the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. So, I just have to go for it.

It’s been more than five years. 450,000 people are dead. 2.5 million people have been displaced. And those are conservative estimates from the organizations tracking the ongoing genocide.

UNAMID and aid workers are repeatedly overpowered and attacked. The International Criminal Court prosecutor announced that he was requesting an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in July on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, but it will be another month before ICC judges rule on the request.

International, human rights and non-governmental organizations have written numerous reports on the condition of the people of Darfur. The latest report from Human Rights Watch and others debunks the myth of cooperation by the Sudanese government – a myth that has been propagated by the Sudanese government.

I’ve recapped all of this for two reasons.

First, if there is anyone out there who doesn’t know what’s going on in Darfur, I just wanted you to know that it’s been this bad for this long.

Second, if there is anyone out there who does know what’s going on in Darfur, I just wanted to say WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET ANGRY! GIVE A DAMN! DO SOMETHING!!!!

Go here, here, here and here if you want to help.

And just for fun, here’s an Amnesty International music video distributed today in honor of human rights.

Time to think about human rights

This Wednesday, December 10th is Human Rights Day. But more than that, it is also the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Holler At Your Girls and many other bloggers have pledged to promote the day by blogging about human rights.

So to commemorate the upcoming anniversary, we will be publishing the articles of the historic declaration over the next couple of days (see articles 1 - 10 below).

I hope that when you read the declaration you will consider some of the places in our world where the articles could be put to good use (Darfur, Myanmar/Burma, Congo and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, come to mind immediately).

Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7. All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8. Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

It's Veterans Day. Let's talk about peace.

The ceremonies are unfolding as I type. Patriotic music. Military vehicles. Skydivers. A veteran walks to the microphone to speak.

But we should start at the beginning.

The Allied Nations and Germany informally ended World War I on November 11, 1918. The war was officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919, and later that year President Wilson declared November 11 Armistice Day. The name was eventually changed to Veterans Day in the United States, and other countries celebrate a version of it as well.

Unlike Memorial Day, which remembers America’s war dead, Veterans Day commemorates both the LIVING and DEAD, both WARtime and PEACEtime military personnel who have served honorably. The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs puts the number of living war veterans at nearly 17.5 million, with about 6 million more living veterans who served during peacetime.

Even though there is an emphasis on living veterans and on including peacetime veterans, it must not be forgotten that Veterans Day was born out of war. Out of “The Great War” to be exact.

And so war got me to thinking about peace.

There have been times when the United States was not at active war, but I consider myself a world citizen too. And can you remember a time when there was not war in the world? It sounds like a silly question. But with all of the unparalleled human advances in science and technology over the last century, why don’t we have world peace? (Humor me.)

I’m discouraged by our ongoing Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, the five-year war and genocide in Darfur and the more than half-century Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to name a few.

So I decided to use this Veterans Day to do a little research on how we can have world peace. (Again, humor me.)

The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission was a great start. Although I was pleased with the three-year-old commission’s mandate of bringing “together all relevant actors to marshal resources and to advise on the proposed integrated strategies for post conflict peacebuilding and recover,” I still wanted answers on how to PREVENT war. Not just build peace after war.

Then I read a Veterans Day statement by two veterans of the Global War on Terror, who are now peace activists. They are calling on the American people to stop the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In their joint-statement, the Iraq War veterans said, “We believe that veterans and active-duty GIs are in a key position to stop illegal and unjust war, and we are inspired by the resistance of troops who stood against the war in Vietnam.”

That was promising. But I still didn’t want to differentiate between just and unjust war. I’m looking for no war. Period. Thanks.

I was hopeful after reading about a 23-year-old peace organization run by veterans. You’ve probably heard of the non-profit humanitarian organization called Veterans For Peace. If you haven’t, the organization is working

“(a) Toward increasing public awareness of the costs of war
(b) To restrain our government from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations
(c) To end the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons
(d) To seek justice for veterans and victims of war
(e) To abolish war as an instrument of national policy.”

Okay. Now we’re talking. “To abolish war as an instrument of national policy.” I like that. But how can we achieve that globally?

Well, I wasn’t fully encouraged again until I took a break from my research to listen to some music. I’m not sure if anyone was listening a few decades ago, but all of the answers were spelled out by legendary musician Bob Marley in his song “War:”

“Until the philosophy which hold one race superior
And another
Inferior
Is finally
And permanently
Discredited
And abandoned -
Everywhere is war -
Me say war.
That until there [are] no longer
First class and second class citizens of any nation
Until the colour of a man's skin
Is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes -
Me say war.

That until the basic human rights
Are equally guaranteed to all,
Without regard to race -
Dis a war.

That until that day
The dream of lasting peace,
World citizenship
Rule of international morality
Will remain in but a fleeting illusion to be pursued,
But never attained -
Now everywhere is war - war.”

I had other thoughts to add, but I think I’ll leave it at that. Have a peaceful Veterans Day.