Daily Darfur: Obama to Appoint Darfur Advocate to UN Post

by Michelle . · 2008-12-01 07:27:00 UTC
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The New York Times reports that President-elect Barack Obama has chosen a Susan Rice, a staunch anti-genocide advocate, as US Ambassador to the United Nations, according to sources close to the transition team. Obama's choice will

"...send to the world organization a prominent and forceful advocate of stronger action, including military force if necessary, to stop mass killings like those in the Darfur region of Sudan in recent years."

An official announcement is expected later today. Rice spoke in 2001 of the impact a visit to barely-post-genocide Rwanda in 1994, when thousands bodies were still left decomposing in open air:

"I swore to myself that if I ever faced such a crisis again, I would come down on the side of dramatic action, going down in flames if that was required."

Rice will face a multitude of challenges in her new post--among them, restoring our country's fractured relations with the international body--but by putting a strong Darfur advocate in a position of incredible influence, Obama is making his first step towards backing up his commitments to end the genocide in Darfur.

My eternal pessimism is beginning to erode.

Michelle . has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns.
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