Which Member of the Security Council Will Lead the Way?

When International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo stood before the Security Council last week to plead for support for his indictments of two perpetrators of mass atrocities and crimes against humanity in Darfur, who dared to stand strong against the Sudanese regime? Who threw their full support to the International Criminal Court in its attempts to finally bring a measure of justice to Darfur's people? The United States? That would make sense -- George W Bush would surely seize a rare opportunity to score a significant plus in what can only be viewed as his abysmal legacy. Did he and his administration at long last step away from old fears and unworthy grudges to support the ICC? Or was it France? French troops are in Chad and CAR. Sarkozy's words about Darfur have been among the most passionate from a world leader. Or perhaps England? Gordon Brown, where are you? Awfully silent on the big issues these days. Not much hope there. No ladies and gentlemen, it is none of the above. The voice of conscience in the United Nations Security Council is Costa Rica's Bruno Stagno Ugarte!!

And what can we think of the rest of them? If not now, when would they stand up? Under what circumstances? I ask this because I'd really like to know. The United Nations has said 'atrocities of the worst kind' are on-going in Darfur, the US government calls it a 'genocide'. I have been there. I do not disagree that this is the apt word. We all know now that hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children have died and are dying -- needlessly. Millions are displaced, barely surviving in wretched camps across Darfur, eastern Chad and CAR where they are dying of hunger, illnesses and they are utterly without protection. What does it take to stand up for them?

Apparently a lot more than this gelatinous body can summon. They come to the SC table not to stand strong for the most imperiled people on earth but cautiously, in oblique ways, they come to serve themselves.

History will note their failure to live up to their responsibility to protect. But that is little comfort to Darfur's people now.

Comments

[RoloTomassi]

Cetainly no one can expect the US or European countries complicit in out attrocities around the world to support the ICC; such might lend credence to charges grought against them in the future, and they couldn't afford to have a stance on record for supporting the prosecution of other nations that have committed the same crimes as the US.

The UN is nothing more than a hollow shell, and that is due to our undue sway over UN votes and resulting actions; as long as the US has what is essentially VETO power over majority votes, the rest of the world will be subjected to unbridled US bias and self-interest above all else.

[mergina]

Is darfur a country rich in oil or other natural resources? Probably not and probably why they don't care.

[peterg76]

Sudan has oil, but not the Darfur part.

[Robert Mackey - Huffpost Blogger]

Ms. Farrow,
I cannot but agree more. The United Nations was established in the midst of World War II, to give a unified front against fascism and totalitarianism. While the in-fighting of the Cold War ensured that the organization would fall short of the dream of a unified global front against aggression, we have a chance now to overcome the weakenesses in the system. We--the global community, and just not the US--failed to stop the killing in Cambodia. We failed to stop it in Rwanda, when we actually had UN forces on the ground, and the 82nd Airborne Division a mere 18 hours away.

We must not fail to take action to stop the killing in Darfur. As an aside to one of my recent posts, the discussion focused on the nearly 700,000 dead in our own Civil War to end slavery. The traffic in human beings still being practiced in the Sudan, the rape squads roaming the refugee camps...if we do not stand against such evil, then we are turning our backs on our forefathers, who died for our liberty, who died in the Civil War, and who died to liberate the Free World.

It is just not the good thing to do, or the right thing to do. It is our duty.

[jsarets]

Sudan is to China as Saudi Arabia is to the United States. We allow them to brutally suppress popular uprisings because they are both critical to the stability of the global economy.

Besides, meddling in the internal politics of developing nations is generally a terrible idea. The worst of the mass murders, rapes, and pillaging took place in 2003-4. It's far too late for the Western World to redeem itself anyway.

When genocide occurs in advanced industrialized nations, or when it threatens to spill over into such nations, then we will act decisively as we did in WWII and most recently in the Balkans.

But the developing world retains a tribal power structure based on cultural identity. They commit genocide because that's how things have worked in these parts of the world for hundreds of years, and it will remain this way until these populations are assimilated into the global workforce.

For all of our good intentions, the progressives make the same mistake with Darfur, Rwanda, etc. that the neoconservatives made with Iraq. We don't understand the complexity of the developing world well enough to cure it of its social ills, and we're liable to make matters much worse if we try.

[LiamR]

I cannot imagine a single rationalization for not standing against the Sudanese regime and demanding justice on this issue at the ICC. My experience has long been that those who do the tough talk are the least likely to be around when real fortitude is needed. That's almost an axiom.

I would be astounded if George W. Bush were to take a courageous and moral stand on Darfur or any issue that wasn't clearly paved with neoncon interests. But where are the rest of our leaders, including Senator Obama, who I am supporting for President? And what about John McCain and his "straight talking" reputation? For that matter, what about all of our congressional reps?

Is it left to a handful of Hollywood celebrities to be bringing attention to America's lack of backbone when it comes to Darfur? We actually pay our political leaders hefty salaries to address, among other things, atrocities around the world, which, if you want to take the selfish view, affect America in terms of international stability. Besides, aren't these the people who swore they wouldn't stand by while another Rwanda-style holocaust occurs?

[GrainOSand]

Love is a subject that painters, musicians, singers, composers, and poets all attempt to express in their various disciplines. Love defies words.

You ever wonder what Martin Luther King meant when he said, "I looked over, and I have seen the Promised Land"? The Promised Land is love. If you are a lawyer, love in all that you do. If you are a doctor, love in all that you do. Teachers educate with love. Construction workers build buildings and create roads with love. Parents nurture children to become productive adults with love. Nations motivate generations with love to achieve the heights of their potential for love of country and betterment of self. Any approach rooted in love pays massive dividends. Any approach void of love is a mere hollow accomplishment of ambition vulnerable to a strong wind. It is not for want of anything other than the pure love of doing whatever one does, that one finds the motivation to continue.

Michael Jordan talked about love of the game. He became the greatest at the game because he loved the game. The money came because of the love that motivated him to be the best he could be. What a country America would be if love were its motivation. This seems pie-in-the-sky idealistic, but before anyone says that, let us examines how hate is working for us. Let us examine the true cost of hate. Let us examine the pain of hate.

[Garioch]

The real news here is that England now have a seat at the United Nations! Next post could you let me know if Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own seats there as well now?

[Raemond]

Come now, you don't really expect the rest of the world to understand about the constituent nations of the United Kingdom?

[mamacat]

Calling for indictments of two criminals would not necessarily get the U.S. deeply involved in the affairs of another country. it might, however, induce their followers to stop their activities.

[in4success]

how the hell are we supposed to do anything for darfur or anywhere else while rome is burning?

soon, we will no longer BE a superpower . . . love your heart and passion but we can't even clean our own house or learn fuck all from our most recent mistakes. i think you're giving americans far too much responsibility and consideration at this time in history.

after all, isn't it many of those corporations and lobbyists running america off the tracks that are supporting much of the tyranny throughout the world?

::shrugg::

look here, mia, and see what is in store for we americans in the very near future (please . . . just take a look): http://cortez.gnn.tv/blogs/14561/Halliburton_building_Concentration_Camps_in_the_US (and ) http://www.apfn.net/messageboard/10-06-05/discussion.cgi.21.html

now, please know we admire you and wish all the success in your plight. we, nevertheless, aren't now and, most certainly, won't be in any position to help anyone very, very soon.

[GrainOSand]

in4:

That which does not diminish over time is truth. That which endures is truth. America indoctrinated hundreds of millions over generations with the idea that this country is a good, decent, fair, and caring country. If that is true, then let that be true in the rain as well as the sunshine, else we realize the reality of the myth in that presented as the truth.

At Christmas time somewhere in America, a family lives in an abode and snow falls gently to the ground outside. The children of that family take in the spirit of the season in school, on the media, and through interaction with friends and family. The promise of America is on full display on every TV channel in all the stories of caring, sharing, hope, and love. America is presented as a place where magic happens. The warmth of the season is in the air and for the poor to the rich in America; there is the underlying idea of goodness in living.

As white snow turns to muddy slush, a myth disappears and in its place is the inescapable truth. Still, the idea of the purity of untouched snow endures as a spirit, as a reminder, as a symbol of the beauty of moments spent huddling closest to the idea of love. Christmas is year round or it never was. We are a great nation or we are not. A tyrant has risen, yet he is not representative -- or he is.

[in4success]

we'll see in november, won't we?

[lainey]

First and foremost, thank you Costa Rica. For far too long, the world has watched while the innocent Fur, Masaalit and Zaghwan people of Darfur have suffered torture, rape, murder and starvation at the hands of the Government of Sudan. We can stand up for the voiceless and the most vulnerable by calling 1-800-GENOCIDE. Let your elected officials know that we hold this administration accountable to their promise of sending the peacekeeping troops to Darfur. We hold them accountable to keep their funding promise. The entire month of June, the United States will hold the Presidency at the UN. Let our government know that this is the time to stop talking about the genocide --that we have called it --in Darfur, and start ending it.

[rzan]

Thank you for the 1-800 number. I keep wondering what I can possibly do? I will call that number.

[yogigirl]

Ms. Farrow please keep speaking out and serving mankind with the voice of concious. Without voices to speak to the world about these atrocities the Securtiy Council will not change their self-serving interests and move toward justice for those who have no voice and serve no financial interest for the global powers. Without your voice and those who speak with you, China will not cease its resistance to justice and peace in Darfur, and at this time when it seeks acceptance and validation on the world stage it can be "persuaded" to move to increase pressure on the Sudanese government.
I watched your's and others brave and courageous battle for these voiceless citizens on "Not On Our Watch" on PBS the other night. The more the conditions in Darfur become know to the public at large the more change will happen. Just as the Anti-Aprartheid (sp)movement in South Africa gradually became a groundswell against brutality and injustice, so will Darfur , so please don't give up your noble mission and don't lose hope in the inate goodness of the people of the world, they just need to keep hearing this clarion call.

[MelFamy]

And the slaughter goes on. I get so mad when I think of the good we could do in Darfur if we were not bogged down in Iraq. And by good, I mean shooting the Janajweed killers right off their camels.

[YankeeCanuck]

This was going on before we got bogged down in Iraq. Sadly, our country has a long history of standing by in these situations. Samantha Powers' "Problem form Hell" on America and genocide is an excellent discussion of these situations.
Still, we wonder: how can we possibly turn away when we know of this suffering?
We might also ask: what has been done in our names to the families in Iraq, those millions left homeless and those 650,000 killed because of our invasion?