Here’s a summary of from Friday night’s opening session. Jen Maceyko, a conference attendee and Darfur activist, summarized the presentation as follows:
Professor Gary Bass of Princeton University opened the 2008 Save Darfur Coalition Conference last night with an honest assessment of the future of the movement while also providing insight into how we might best move forward.
The key take-away: We are the people who make the phones ring.
Professor Bass is perhaps best known as a former Economist reporter whose recent book, Freedom’s Battle, explores the history of the humanitarian movement. His vignettes from his book – from the London Greek Society standing up for the Greeks in the early 1820s to the British civil society’s outrage over the massacre of Bulgarians in the 1870s – demonstrated the importance of civil society in stopping genocide and crimes against humanity.
Bass’s optimism about the crowd in the room – at least 100 people – was paired with a realistic assessment of where we are in the world now, especially considering the forthcoming Obama Administration.
He warned that while there will be new leadership in the White House, many top foreign policy issues aren’t going anywhere; Iraq, Afghanistan, China, Russia, and the foreign and domestic economies are all trump issue.
But there is still room for Darfur on the agenda of policymakers. Bass said that the Darfur movement needs to ensure that if they Administration is faced with a decision on whether to focus on Cuba or Darfur, for example, the case has been made for stopping the genocide in Darfur.
How can we make the case?
- Make sure every elected official in Washington and at your local level knows that their constituents care about this issue and want the genocide stopped. Make phone calls and office visits. But don’t overwhelm them with information. Be direct in what you want.
- Do not give the press a free pass. Many large newspapers have completely eliminated their foreign correspondents. Continue to pressure the press to cover this story. And if they need help, make it newsworthy. There is always a new, important story to tell. Show them that story.
- Build a constituency. The Holocaust had a built-in constituency, but Rwanda did not. That public and civil society pressure is what leaders need in order to make the right decisions.
Bass also shared stories about his recent trip to China to meet with Chinese officials. China does not take human rights reports seriously because they think they are being baited. But if leaders can change the frame through which China views the Darfur, there might be room for progress. China is interested in US hegemony, so the US needs to begin showing China how they can learn from our mistakes, particularly as they relate to our relations with states and their people.
Bass’s discussion was a frank assessment of what we need to do to ensure the genocide in Darfur is ended. We need to set the agenda. And it happens the louder we are, the more we make the phones ring. Even with a new administration coming into office, we face an uphill battle. But it is up to us to ensure the goodwill that comes with a new administration is focused on Darfur.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.
