This is an additonal post

DAC expo completely awesome!

Last week the DAC launched it's long awaited expo dealing with Darfur. Witsies attended in their droves to hear speakers, see the expo boards and watch multi media displays. It may be the first time in a long time that so many witsies stopped to read something at once. The opening speech dealing with Darfur in an international context was well attended by many dignitaries, the press, DAC members and normal students eager for information. DAC members continued to be on hand for the next three days answering questions, looking after visiting schools and taking down the names of interested people.Well done to all involved!

News

Mbeki confident of UN breakthrough in Darfur

April 12, 2007 Edition 3
Khartoum - President Thabo Mbeki wrapped up a two-day visit to Sudan last night, expressing optimism that Sudan would agree to the second phase of a proposed three-phase UN support package for the embattled Darfur region.
Sudan first agreed to the three-phase plan in November, but withdrew assurances that it would allow UN peacekeepers into the region, calling on the UN to provide only financial and logistical support to the struggling 7 000-member African Union mission charged with monitoring Darfur.
The about-face infuriated the international community, and critics abroad have charged that Sudan is buying time while the conflict continues to rage in Darfur. Experts estimate that at least 200 000 people have died since 2003.
At a high-level meeting attended by representatives from the AU, Sudanese officials, and the UN in Addis Ababa on Tuesday, Sudan reportedly agreed to the second phase of UN support.
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Phase two calls for the entry of around 3 000 UN troops and police, and the use of attack helicopters.
"There are some final negotiations that will take place between the UN, the AU and the Sudanese government," Mbeki said after meeting with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. "I'm quite confident that those matters will be resolved."
But after months of reversals, the international community has expressed doubt that Sudan is serious about allowing UN entry into the region.
The US, a vocal critic of Sudan's policies in Darfur, said it would refrain from imposing sanctions on Sudan to allow further UN negotiations. - Sapa-dpa http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3776218

DAC to turn up the heat on Darfur

If you think you are cool because you have every colour "live strong" armband ever made, then read on. DAC in tandem with its other events will be selling beaded bracelets this Thursday 19 April outside the matrix. The beads are in DAC's colours (green and black) and funds raised will go to the Darfur Solar Cookers project. The project aims to help people in Darfur with that simplest of acts, cooking. People in the region face hazards on a daily basis when out looking for wood, which in Darfur means risking attack and rape. For more information go to http://www.dpado.org/projects.php?project=womencenters

On another note the bracelets are far more fashionable then any others on the market, so you really cant lose when you buy one.

Darfur exhibition on campus soon

The Darfur Awareness Committee will be launching an exhibition on wits campus from the 24 April to 30 April 2007. The exhibition will have speakers, an exhibition stand, documentaries, and slide show. Schools and dignitaries from around the city have been in invited and the exhibition will be open to the students and the general public as well. See you there!

Latest News

(Geneva, March 30, 2007) – The UN Human Rights Council closed its fourth regular session today having failed to take action to address many of the world’s most urgent human rights situations, Human Rights Watch said today. The council adoption of a compromise text regarding the crisis in Darfur, however, was a welcome if small step forward. The council again chose talk over action on worsening human rights situations in countries such as Burma, Iran, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan,” said Peggy Hicks, global advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “The council’s resolution on Darfur is a relatively bright light in an otherwise disappointing session.” The council adopted the Darfur text put forward by Germany, as amended, by consensus, after extended negotiations involving a competing Algerian draft. The resolution establishes a group composed of six currently-serving independent experts on a range of abuses – including violence against women, extrajudicial executions and torture – and led by the council-appointed expert on Sudan. The expert group is charged with working to ensure follow-up and implementation of existing recommendations by the council and its experts, by the council’s predecessor, the UN Commission on Human Rights, and by other UN human rights institutions. The group is also charged with reporting back to the council in June. The text does not, however, criticize the Sudanese government directly for its role in orchestrating and perpetrating massive violations of human rights and humanitarian law in Darfur. Several African states played a critical role in breaking the council’s silence on Darfur. Six states – Cameroon, Ghana, Mauritius, Nigeria, Senegal and Zambia – called for council action in response to a report on Darfur from a high-level mission established by the council in December. These and other states, including Uganda and Mauritania, engaged constructively in discussions over the German text. A key test for the council will be whether these and other swing states such as India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and South Africa will engage similarly to address abuses in other locations in the future. The council continued its practice of hearing detailed reporting from its independent experts on human rights violations who focus both on “thematic” issues, such as torture or violence against women, and on particular country situations. This segment of the council’s agenda shines a spotlight on violations in many countries, an act which could itself help to protect human rights in some cases. For the full article go to http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/03/30/global15608.htm

Where is Darfur?

Darfur is a region of Sudan a country situated in Northren Africa.