“Even a tank cannot stop the breaking dawn”: Resistance and Change Committees in a Warring Sudan
In the past four months, more than 2.4 million Sudanese people have fled their homes due to ongoing conflict, and the number continues to increase. A series of failed ceasefires and a growing humanitarian crisis begs the question: how are local pro-democracy actors sustaining their efforts? For the past ten years, Resistance and Change Committees (RCCs)—localized, grassroots organizations largely led by young people—have actively engaged in political activism. RCC members come from diverse socio-economic backgrounds and advocate for a discourse “transcending tribal, ethnic and regional affiliations” in support of a democratic transition. Such transcendence has progressively garnered strong public support, and RCCs may well be a key player in sustainable future peace talks.
Food Insecurity and Terrorism: What Famine Means for Somalia
In Somalia, 26 million people are expected to experience extreme hunger by February 2023, threatening hundreds of thousands of lives. Nearly half of Somalia’s population of 7.1 million people already face acute food insecurity. In the first six months of 2022, the number of children receiving treatment for malnutrition surged 300 percent. According to the United Nations Assistance Mission to Somalia, malnutrition rates are among the highest in the world. A persistent drought, internal violence, economic instability, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have contributed to the growing food crisis. Not only does food insecurity threaten fundamental human rights and longevity, but it also poses challenges to political stability and increases the risk of terrorism.
Supporting the Implementation of the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) Recommendations in The Gambia
In 2016, following the election of President Adama Barrow, the National Assembly of The Gambia established the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) to investigate and report an impartial historical record of human rights violations during Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year dictatorship. In May 2022, after a six-year review process characterized by a lack of transparency and numerous citizen complaints, the government released a white paper in response to the TRRC recommendations outlining their goals for promoting healing, addressing impunity, and preventing future human rights violations.
Enhancing Women’s Leadership Capacity in Uganda
Since Uganda’s 2005 referendum, which ushered in the multiparty system of government, women political leaders have struggled to secure leadership roles and participate in elections. Women political leaders are often underrepresented within political parties, deeply impacting their participation in decision-making processes. In 2022, only 34 percent of representatives in Uganda’s National Assembly were women, a testament to the hostile and violent environment that discourages women from participating in politics.
Congolese Cobalt: A Growing Human Rights Catastrophe
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one of the world’s poorest countries, an increase in mass violence and internal displacement is the result of militia infighting over mineral reserves (M23 rebel group, for example). Since October 2023, 6.9 million Congolese people have been displaced due to violence and rebel attacks–400,000 the result of forced evictions from cobalt mining.