Wednesday, March 23, 2011

There is no rupture...


...without damage.

How to expedite the process of nation building and recognition? This is also a problem for the U.S. should economic conditions worsen (and I for one think that they must given the austerity and current opinion railing aginst the budget deficit). I have recently been reading about the exta-constitutional tactics the revered Abraham Lincoln used in order to restrain the south from secession - the man certainly knew the value of force and quickly jettisoned republican ideals in favor of preserving order. Only physical force (or an implicit guarantee of force) can ensure peace in most of these instances. "Human Rights" is a meaningless, vapid concept in the absence of force, and less so in the presence of force.

This past January, more than ninety-eight percent of Southern Sudanese voters confirmed their desire to secede from Sudan and declare an independent state. Although the government of Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum issued a decree recognizing the outcome of the referendum, many concerns persist regarding the promotion and protection of the human rights of the Southern Sudanese people, particularly during the turbulent transition to official statehood in July.
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On March 25, the Project on Internal Displacement and the Africa Growth Initiative at Brookings will host a discussion to explore the future of human rights protections in Southern Sudan. The event will feature presentations by the Honorable Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, head of mission at the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) Mission and the Honorable Elkanah Odembo, Kenyan ambassador to the United States. Following their remarks, Joyce Leader and Andrew Natsios of Georgetown University will offer commentary

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