Arcadia Foundation

South Sudan has officially pledged to end the use of child soldiers within its region by the end of this year, the BBC, the AFP, and Reuters reports.  The promise comes within the precipice of the referendum vote to decide its own autonomy from its northern counterpart or not.  Out of South Sudan come reports that even the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) has established a child protection unit to make good on their promise. To date, the UN Children’s Agency estimates up to 900 children still fight with the SPLA, though it’s already discharged more than 20,000 children already in support of the pledge.

During the conflict, which ended in 2005 with the signature of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), what was known as the “Red Army” was the official title of the special “youth unit” in which child soldiers served in the rebel army of the South. Unfortunately, many more children still living in the recognized southern region still rely on serving in the military out of desperation, having no other means of support. That, or they grew up with their families in army barracks as well, sources in Sudan say.

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Farmer Franklin Britos, 49, died last night at approximately 9 pm, at the Carlos Arvelo Military Hospital of Caracas as a result of a hunger strike which began several months ago to protest against “expropriation policy and nationalizations carried out by the Hugo Chávez government.”

According to his wife, Elena Brito, “he died around 9 pm due to a heart attack.” His weight was 35 kilos, his body mass index was below 10 percent and he showed clinical signs of hypothermia critical.

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As seen in the Huffington Post:

Uganda is a bountiful, diverse nation on the socio-economic rise. They are a people of peace and tolerance, spurring international recognition for our established and newfound bevy of resources, their majestic scenery which has long supported thriving tourism and our democratic government, each day opening its doors to showcase greater transparency. Uganda has long been a cultural melting pot, with over 30 distinct indigenous languages belonging to five linguistic groups. Indeed all the tools are in place for Uganda to be a shining star in the continent and a symbol of potential for their neighbors.

In recent months however, their thought leadership with regard to pragmatic cultural progression has been severely weakened by prejudice, fear and frankly, illegal interventionism both from targeted sects here at home and by larger organizations abroad. I am speaking of course of the Anti-Homosexuality legislation.

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The wheels of diplomacy grind slowly in Havana, but now at last Raúl Castro has acted after negotiations with the Catholic church and the Spanish foreign minister, Miguel Ángel Moratinos.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay hopes Cuba’s move to release 52 political prisoners represents “the start of significant steps” to protect human rights in the country, her spokesman said Friday.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights welcomed Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas’s decision to end a hunger strike after 135 days as a result of the “positive development“, spokesman Rupert Colville said.

“The High Commissioner welcomes the announcement that Cuba plans to release 52 political detainees and it will particularly be good news when the phased release of all 52 has actually been completed,” he told journalists.

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Reports that the man whose head was found in a latrine in Uganda worked for a pro-gay group in the country have proven to be false, causing many to unfortunately believe that the story was planted to discredit the Ugandan LGBT community, foreign bloggers, and Integrity Uganda. Integrity USA, a group representing LGBT Episcopalians, has confirmed that the dead man, Pasikali Kashusbe, was not associated with Integrity Uganda.

Jim Burroway at Box Turtle Bulletin writes:

“Some believe that the story was planted to discredit the Ugandan LGBT community, foreign bloggers, and Integrity Uganda specifically when the story was inevitably revealed to be a fraud. Other possibilities include (someone) using this story for another run at fraudulent fundraising.”

Burroway later issued an apology for perpetuating the false story: Read Full Paper

The following, excerpted from the Opinion column of Canada’s ‘The National Post‘, does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Arcadia Foundation, however we must commend Mr. Frum for his candor and unique brand of insight in to an administration unquestionably veiled by popular culture and often scrutinized with ‘kid gloves’:

Can you name one major foreign policy initiative of the Obama administration that is not mired in failure?

The Afghan war is going wrong. Diplomatic outreach to Iran was slapped away. Concessions to Russia failed to buy meaningful sanctions. Pro-Obama European governments have declined to send more troops to Afghanistan.

The President’s personal relationships with leaders of Germany, U.K. and France are cool to chilly. The President’s outreach to the Islamic world has achieved nothing: In fact, more anti-American terrorist plots were launched in 2009 than in any year since 2001.

When a pro-Hugo Chavez president tried to hold power illegally in Honduras, the Obama administration backed the lawless president over a unanimous Honduran Supreme Court.

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African gay activists in Africa and in the diaspora are increasingly using the Internet to have their voices heard, while still trying to figure out how to advance homosexual rights on the continent.

One of the more popular blogs advocating gay rights in Africa is called Gay Uganda. Its author chooses to remain anonymous.

“I am somebody in the heart of Africa who has been lonely without the rest of the Internet, without the rest of the global sphere, talking about what I would like to talk about, with that kind of freedom,” he said from Kampala.”I cannot do it elsewhere.”
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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pleaded Monday with Latin American countries to welcome Honduras back into their circle.

Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua and other nations have thus far refused to recognize the new Honduran leader, Porfirio Lobo, who was elected following the ouster of former President Manuel Zelaya.

Addressing a meeting of the Organization of American States here, Mrs. Clinton noted that the United States had originally condemned Mr. Zelaya’s ouster. But she said, “We saw the free and fair election of President Lobo,” and she praised him for nonetheless setting up a truth commission to investigate Zelaya’s removal from office, which was legally authorized by the Honduran judiciary. Read Full Paper

Rwanda. A nation geopolitically renowned for its great strides in finding economic prosperity from the ruins of 1994.

We haven’t discussed much in the tone of Rwandan human rights on this site. That changes today. Enter lawyer Peter Erlinder, an American political prisoner of the Rwandan government who was detained under false charges on May 28th, just one week after his client, the opposition leader Victoire Ingabire was jailed.

Despite a formal request from the U.S. State Department that Rwanda immediately release Erlinder, things have only gotten worse, as the judge has rejected all motions for bail, extended his remand for another 30 days, while Erlinder’s own defense attorney has been chased from the country fearing his own detention.

“There has been a lot of theatrics surrounding this case, but the fundamental issue at stake is whether Rwandans believe it is permissible for Genocide defenders and deniers to threaten the hard-won stability and harmony they have built in 16 years,” Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs Louise Mushikiwabo said in a statement released by her office. Read Full Paper

The following post is brought to us by Amsterdam Group.net, Public Relations liaisons to the Arcadia Foundation:

World Cup fever is in full swing – the event shines a geopolitical spotlight on every nation showcased on a daily basis. This time around, the public relations initiatives behind each team seem to be near-tangible. For some of the more oppressive regimes, they may even be downright embarrassing.

Since leaving the country is an impossibility for prison- er, citizens of North Korea, the marketing gurus from the Jong-Il administration have decided to recruit their Chinese friends to make the trip for them and support the Chollima, the nickname of North Korea’s embattled but unbowed soccer team.

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