New Report: How an Illegal Charcoal Trade is Threatening Africa’s Oldest National Park

Today, NOOW partner The Enough Project released its latest report, “The Mafia in the Park: A charcoal syndicate is threatening Virunga, Africa's oldest national park” by Enough Senior Policy Analyst Holly Dranginis.

Follow the jump for a link to the report.

Government of Sudan Continues Policies of Suffering in Darfur

This week, the United Nations verified that at least 80,000 Darfuris fled their homes due to armed conflict near Jebel Marra earlier this year. The total number of displaced may very well be closer to 127,000, but the Government of Sudan refuses to allow U.N. or African Union personnel access to conflict-affected areas, making verification extremely difficult. Indeed, UNAMID, the joint U.N.-A.U. peacekeeping mission in Darfur, struggles to access areas such as Jebel Marra even though it is clearly within its mandate to do so.

Click to read further.

NOOW Partner The Enough Project’s Policy Director Brad Brooks-Rubin Testifies before Congress on US Sanctions Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa

On Wednesday June 8, NOOW Partner The Enough Project's Policy Director, Brad Brooks-Rubin, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy, convening for a session on “U.S. Sanctions Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa".

A link to video of his testimony follows after the jump.

Civil Society Groups Call for Greater Governance in Global Diamond Industry

With his divisive and derisive comments concerning civil society at the recent Kimberley Process (KP) mid-year meeting, the 2016 Chair of the KP, Ahmed Bin Sulayem, helped to remind the world of the critical issues facing the diamond industry...

Click through for a link to his comments, as well as a link to a joint statement response from the Civil Society Coalition.

Board Member John Prendergast: "The Paper Tiger in South Sudan: Threats without Consequences for Atrocities and Kleptocracy"

Click through for a link to a policy brief that adapts and expands on congressional testimony board member John Prendergast delivered on April 27, 2016 before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations in a hearing on “South Sudan’s Prospects for Peace and Security.”