Well, considering that these are the first multi-party elections to happen in Sudan in nearly 24 years, I’m more surprised by how many people are complaining than how the process is going with its delays and many, many problems. I mean, sure, I would be angered if I were a citizen trying to vote and found the voting station closed or disorganized. But really, what should we expect given the circumstances in Sudan? If you’ve ever been to Sudan, you would understand why I say this.

Now whether or not I expect to be pleased with the outcome, that’s a whole other story. My hopes are not high given that Khartoum will continue to have its death-grip on that country, trying to stifle any progress or sort of human rights, and that so many major political parties have withdrawn from the elections.

“This looks like a great project. There is a container at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London waiting to be filled with academic books for Juba University. Get down there if you have any and you are based in London; the deadline is the end of March.”

There you have it. If you live in London, please head on down there and donate a few books. It’s going towards a great cause and there is not a single reason why we can not meet that need.

“I think we better abolish the visa regime and I am going to inform my government so that anybody with a South Sudanese or Ugandan travel document can walk into each other’s country and trade freely.”

….that comes from Otafire, Ugandan Minister of Commerce. [Source: Roving Bandit]

In this week’s Kiva Pledge Update I am supporting Dawa Marita, who is currently in the business of selling bread and beans in Gudele, Sudan.

According to his Kiva business page:

Dawa Marita is currently in the business of selling bread and beans and is requesting a loan to stock more beans to sell. Dawa is 39 years old and is Married with a husband that is a teacher. She has 4 children and her children go to school. With the extra profits from her loan, she hopes to be able to open up a shop BRAC’s holistic approach to poverty alleviation and empowerment of the poor encompasses a range of core programs in economic and social development, health, education , and human rights and legal services which are delivered through an extensive network of village organizations. BRAC has become one of the world’s largest NGOs as a measured by the scale and diversity of its interventions. In 2007, BRAC started operations in Southern Sudan. The microfinance program, which is targeted towards returning war refugees, has already formed 418 village organizations with more than 14,000 women members.

Stay tuned for the next Kiva Pledge Update on September 27th.

I stumbled upon a great writeup by a gentleman who I really admire in the law profession, Mr. William A. Schabas, director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland, Galway, a superb human rights establishment in my opinion (also the desired home of my human rights PhD).

Mr. Schabas summed up the indictment eloquently on the blog “PhD studies in human rights”,

African States have traditionally been among the strongest supporters of the International Criminal Court. But since the proceedings began against President El Bashir of Sudan, just one year ago, the wind has changed. A few days ago, the African Union agreed by consensus to a resolution declaring that ‘The AU member states shall not co-operate… relating to immunities for the arrest and surrender of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to the ICC.’ The statement is not available on the AU website, but I have managed to obtain a copy: http://www.mediafire.com/?oiz295lpz0r.
President Mills of Ghana (which has a judge at the Court) told the media yesterday that ‘he was convinced by the argument that the court’s case against President al-Bashir differs from cases against former Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba and Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony’. It seems clear that by prosecuting an African head of State, some sort of qualitative change took place. The issue of immunity is not a simple one, and unfortunately the Bashir arrest warrant decision of March 2009 completely glossed over the nuances.
According to the Pre-Trial Chamber in the arrest warrant, Bashir has no immunity before the Court because article 27 of the Statute says there is no immunity before the Court. The problem – which the Pre-Trial Chamber did not address – is that article 27 may only apply to States that have joined the Court. Immunity of heads of State results from customary international law, and it seems it can only be taken away from a State if it agrees. That is what article 27 does. By ratifying the Rome Statute, States agree that their head of State enjoys no immunity before the Court. And that is why article 27 only applies to States that have joined the Court, and not to States that have. A day or two after the arrest warrant against Bashir was issued, the Guardian editorialist perceptively noted that the Americans, in their glee about the arrest warrant, should understand the consequence: their president too is subject to prosecution by the Court. Like most provisions in the Statute, there is more than one plausible interpretation. But the judges of the Pre-Trial Chamber might have addressed the difficulty and not ignored it.
Many commentators answer that Bashir has lost his immunity because of the Security Council resolution. The case comes to the Court not by the consent of Sudan but by resolution of the Security Council. But that argument is not straightforward either. First, the Security Council did not strip Bashir of his immunity in any explicit manner. So the theory that its resolution removes his immunity is based upon implication. Here’s the problem: the Security Council only triggers prosecutions at the Court, it does not change the Statute. The Security Council cannot add crimes to the Statute, or change the age limit for prosecution, or require it to deal with cases prior to 2002. I think the Security Council takes the Statute as it finds it. It is in no different a position than a State Party that refers a situation to the Court. And if a State Party cannot refer a situation to the Court by which a head of State is stripped of immunity, then how can the Security Council do it?
Whatever the legalities – and these legal problems are raised in the African Union resolution – the real problem is a political one. The Court hardly needs this antagonism from Africa. When the Prosecutor declined to go after the British with respect to war crimes perpetrated in Iraq, many found his explanations to be unconvincing. It was often said that the decision was ‘political’, because it would be reckless to bite off such an ambitious case in the early years of the Court. And that made some sense. If the United Kingdom were to be angry with the Court, then that might have serious consequences, especially in its fragile, early years.
Instead, the Prosecutor has chosen ‘soft targets’, compliant African States. But it looks like the Court may have bitten off more than it can chew. If the Court is going to be ‘political’ about NATO States, and about its wealthy supporters, then it needs to show the same kind of deference to African States. Otherwise, they will react just as they have done. We all want a Court that is free of these political concerns. But as it flexes its muscles and shows that it is not afraid to go after even a head of State, maybe it should have started with a European instead of an African?

While this didn’t really cause me to come to a conclusion regarding the indictment (nor was it supposed to), what it did do was open up a slew of questions that I believe are crucially important to understand before making such rash decisions ‘for’ or ‘against’ the ICC indictment. As Mr. Schabas communicated, the situation is highly complicated and political and doesn’t just encapsulate Sudan, but the whole of Africa and even the rest of the world.

The question I think more people should be asking about the indictment is, “Now what?” How do we move forward? Those questions are being asked by many with the debate over justice vs. peace and which comes first and how to deliver those two things to the people of Sudan who thirst for it on a daily basis. I will definitely be watching this debate as it unfolds.

In this week’s Kiva Pledge Update I am supporting Mora Jenty in Sudan, a businesswoman from Gudele, Sudan who sells bread and charcoal and is requesting a loan to open up a bakery.

According to her Kiva business page:

Mora Jenty is currently in the business of selling bread and charcoal and is requesting a loan to open up a bakery. Mora is 27 years old and is married. Her husband is a driver. She has 1 child and her child goes to school. With the extra profits from her loan, she hopes to be able to build a hotel.

Stay tuned for the next Kiva Pledge Update on June 21st.

In this week’s Kiva Pledge Update I am supporting Gowo Jenty in Sudan, a businesswoman who prepares and sells food at her restaurant in Juba, South Sudan.

According to her Kiva business page:

Gowo Jenty is 42 years old and is married with a husband who is a chief. She has five school-aged children. Gowo prepares and sells food at her restaurant, and she is requesting a loan to purchase more rice and beans to be cooked in the restaurant. With the extra profits from her loan, she hopes to be able to purchase some land, construct a building and rent it out.

Stay tuned for the next Kiva Pledge Update on June 7th.

It has long been my desire to build online web tools exclusively to benefit the Sudanese. VOS is only one of those ideas and I literally have a stack of manila folders on my desk at any given time, each labeled with a project name and full of concepts that I have conceived over the past 7-8 years. I plan on launching VOS very soon and getting a start on at least one or two more of my projects and releasing them into the wild over the summer. With the help and collaboration of other like-minded people, some of these projects will have the potential to grow into something useful and life-changing for other individuals.

To get the ball rolling I have posted a ‘Projects’ page, where all of my projects, live or conceptual, will be listed as well as a brief synopsis on each project. Expect this list to grow soon.

My passion did not exist solely because of the civil war being raged between the North and the South. I was interested in the long-term existence of the Sudanese people and their livelihood beyond the current advocacy trends. Since my early interest in Sudan, the country has gone through many changes: the Darfur genocide, the CPA agreement between the North and the South, the death of John Garang (whom I deeply admired), and many other developments.

In 2005, I had the opportunity to travel to Sudan, among other African countries. The relevancy an immediacy of my passions were confirmed. Sudan was where my heart rested and would always rest. The people of Sudan were like no other I had met and I was drawn to their struggle. Today, Sudan still struggles in many areas for many things. Africa’s largest country is a complicated landscape of diversity and passions. Many Sudanese are living in communities throughout the world and they make up what is called the Sudanese Diaspora. I have a strong desire not only to help improve conditions within Sudan, but also contribute to the lives of the Sudanese Diaspora internationally.

The people of Sudan are a passionate people worthy of a voice in the world. One of my contributions to the Sudanese was to help give them that voice to communicate what they are passionate about and provide resources for them to make the best of their online connections. Hence, the birth of Voice of Sudan (aka VOS).

What is Voice of Sudan?

The official mission statement for Voice of Sudan is: “Voice of Sudan aims to give a voice to Sudanese people internationally through blogging, social media, and networking while providing resources to contribute to their personal development.” Essentially, Voice of Sudan is starting as a blogging network where Sudanese can come and have a blog of their own and interact with other Sudanese. The VOS network will allow them to become a part of a larger community of Sudanese interested in social networking through blogging. There are many very successful Sudanese networks online, but so far there is no blogging network strictly for Sudanese. Voice of Sudan is being built to fill that void and to provide resources that will help them in their personal development.

Who is eligible to create a blog on Voice of Sudan?

Voice of Sudan is limited to any person of Sudanese descent male or female born inside or outside of Sudan.

What can Voice of Sudan blogger’s blog about?

Anything, as long as you agree not to post explicit or inflammatory material noted in the agreement terms.

What other features will Voice of Sudan offer besides blogging?

In addition to blogging, Voice of Sudan will make use of Facebook Connect. Facebook Connect will link up your VOS blog to your friends on Facebook and allow you to interact with them in a whole new way. Voice of Sudan will also make use of social bookmarking to maximize the potential outreach of each blog to many other social networking sites. Other features are also being tested.

What makes Voice of Sudan different from other blogging networks like Blogger? Is Voice of Sudan competing with Facebook?

While anyone can easily set up a blog on a multitude of blogging networks like Blogger, these networks are open to anyone from any background and they do not form a coherent “community”. One common complaint I hear among Sudanese is that they get lost in many of these social networks. Voice of Sudan seeks to correct that by bringing them together in one place where they can communicate.

Voice of Sudan is not competing with Facebook, it is actually being built as a valuable addition to Facebook. Using Facebook Connect, Sudanese with Facebook accounts will be able to bring their circle of friends into their blogging network on Voice of Sudan. Ways of integrating other social networking sites into your Voice of Sudan profile will also become available soon.

Will I need to be on Facebook in order to have a blog on Voice of Sudan?

Definitely not. You are free to start a blog on Voice of Sudan whether or not you make use of the features on Facebook.

Will I need technical experience in order to apply for a blog on Voice of Sudan?

Nope. Voice of Sudan will be easy for anyone to use with or without technical experience.

When will Voice of Sudan be online?

Voice of Sudan is currently in the development stage and is progressing nicely. I will be opening up Voice of Sudan to a select group of Sudanese before the public launch to perform beta testing. To become a possible candidate for beta testing, please join the Voice of Sudan Facebook group or email me about your interest. You will receive notification when beta testing opens up.

What blogging platform will Voice of Sudan be built on?

Voice of Sudan is built on a unique hybrid of WordPress MU and BuddyPress.

Where can I find more information?

I highly recommend you join our Facebook group to stay up-to-date on the development of Voice of Sudan. Most immediate updates will be posted to the Facebook group before appearing on this blog.

I have additional questions or want to get involved.

I am more than happy to answer your questions. You can either post them in the comments section below, on the Voice of Sudan Facebook group, or email me. If you would like to get more involved on a technical level, please email me your interest and level of technical knowledge and I will be in touch with you shortly.

• GIS Technology for Genocide Prevention (from iRevolution)
• The League of Movable Type-A Collection of Open Source Fonts
• Great African LAN Party (from App+frica)
• 2009 Uganda National Park Challenge (from Ugandan Insomniac)
• Poor need manufacturing, says UN (from BBC News)
• What Does Africa Buy? (from App+Africa)
• Solving Africa-Book project about African entrepreneurship (from Nubian Cheetah)