Bearing Witness in Sudan

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It’s been called one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and it’s showing no signs of abatement. The killing, the pillaging and the rape continues in Sudan’s Darfur region, where an estimated 70,000 people have been killed, and more than two million driven from their homes.

The people there need the attention of both humanitarian aid agencies and human rights organizations. How they do that work though, varies. Human rights groups gather information about the atrocities, then publicly “name and shame” the perpetrators. Aid agencies focus on getting the basic needs of the victims met , food, water, medicine, and often remain quiet about who’s right or wrong in the conflict. For both kinds of organizations, there’s a tradeoff.

Guests:

Lynn Amowitz, Director of Evidence-Based Research for International Medical Corps, Director of the Initiative on Global Women’s Health at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, recently returned from a trip to Darfur

Georgette Gagnon, Deputy Director, Africa Division, Human Rights Watch, recently returned from Darfur.