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Advocacy & campaigns

221 US academics petition Obama on DR Congo maelstrom

Association of Concerned Africa Scholars

2012-12-13, Issue 610

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/85770

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The scholars are calling on President Obama to take bilateral actions and actions through the United Nations to protect civilians in the conflict zone of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

December 10, 2012

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington DC 20500

Dear President Obama,

We, the undersigned 220 scholars of Africa and members and associates of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars, join Amnesty International in being deeply dismayed about the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We urge you to lead the international community in taking forceful action to seek to end the human rights violations that are being committed and to press all involved parties to ensure the protection of civilians. Specifically:

- Press the Security Council to ensure protection of civilians from further abuse and ensure support for the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC (MONU) so that it has adequate resources and mandate to fulfill its protection role.

- Support a Security Council resolution requiring Rwanda and Uganda to immediately withdraw any support to the M23 armed group.

- Publicly recommend to the UNSC that officials within the Rwandan Ministry of Defence be added to the list of designated individuals targeted by the UNSC Sanctions Committee.

- Mandate the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to fully implement the Sec 1502 disclosure requirement of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act requiring U.S. companies to disclose any products they manufacture using conflict minerals sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo or contiguous countries.

- Press the Congolese government to stop violations being committed by the Congolese army as well as entering into alliances with armed groups, and fully implement the Public Law 109-456: The DRC Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act of 2006 (Obama Law).

- End the waiver of Child Soldier sanctions on the Congolese Government and extend the sanctions to include nations that support guerilla movements like M23 that recruit child soldiers.

Signed by 220 academics and scholars of Africa in the United States and sent to President Barack Obama, 12/11/2012

ACAS Co-Chairperson: Prof. Noah Zerbe, Humboldt State University, Noah.Zerbe@humboldt.edu
ACAS Secretary: Prof. Leslie Hadfield, Brigham Young University, leslie_hadfield@byu.edu
ACAS Demilitarization TF Chair: Prof. David Wiley, Michigan State University, wiley@msu.edu

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