News & Updates
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August 18, 2010
- SUDAN NOW
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 18, 2010
CONTACT:
Julia Thornton, 650.587.2016, Julia@humanityunited.org
Jonathan Hutson, 857.919.5130, jhutson@enoughproject.org
Ann Brown, 301.633.4193, abrown@annbrowncommunications.com
Susan Morgan, 617.797.0451, susan@paxcommunications.org
Allyson Neville, 202.559.7405 extension 415, neville@genocideintervention.net
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Obama could be deciding a severe shift in U.S. policy toward Sudan at this very moment—nearly 100 days before a critical referendum vote that could divide Africa’s largest country. An internal debate within the administration recently ended with a look toward shifting the U.S. relationship with Sudan to one that favors appeasement and incentives, instead of a balanced policy of both incentives and pressures. The policy now sits on the president’s desk waiting for his reaction, which should come in the next few days or weeks.
This potential shift comes at a perilous time for Sudan. In the past few months, the security situation in Darfur has been deteriorating precipitously. Aid workers are being threatened and expelled. On August 7th, Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir warned aid groups and the United Nations, including the peacekeeping force in Darfur, UNAMID, that, “anyone who exceeds these boundaries or their mandate can be expelled the same day.” In addition, the referendum between north and south Sudan is looming, currently scheduled for January 2011. Many of the agreements ensuring the vote and security afterward have not yet been decided upon. It is critical that President Obama and his administration take the lead in ensuring that war does not return to Sudan.
Before President Obama makes his decision on the new course of U.S. policy on Sudan, experts within Sudan Now, a coalition of anti-genocide organizations, are available to discuss the conflict with your listeners to provide background and analysis of the current situation.
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS:
Mark Hanis, Genocide Intervention Network
Mark Lotwis, President, Save Darfur Coalition
John Prendergast, Co-Founder, Enough Project
Sudan Now is a campaign led by a group of prominent anti-genocide and human rights advocacy organizations committed to bringing meaningful and lasting peace to Sudan and encouraging strong American leadership and action to achieve this goal. The campaign challenges President Barack Obama and top U.S. administration officials to live up to their promises to take strong and immediate action to help end the international crisis in Sudan and bring a lasting peace to the people of that country. Organizations participating in the current campaign include Humanity United, the Enough Project at the Center for American Progress, Save Darfur Coalition, Genocide Intervention Network, Stop Genocide Now, and Investors Against Genocide.
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August 05, 2010
- HUMANITY UNITED NEWS
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August 02, 2010
- HUMANITY UNITED NEWS
White House Deputy Assistant to the President Peter Rundlet to join D.C. Office
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Vanessa Parra, 202.904.0319; vparra@humanityunited.org
REDWOOD CITY, CALIF. — The Silicon Valley-based philanthropic organization Humanity United announced today that Peter Rundlet will become its new Vice President, working out of the organization’s Washington, D.C. office. Rundlet joins Humanity United after over a year in the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Staff Secretary for President Barack Obama. In his new role at Humanity United, Rundlet will help direct the organization’s grantmaking portfolio, assist in developing and leading the organization’s global strategy, and serve as an integral member of the organization’s senior management. He will assume his responsibilities at Humanity United on August 2nd.
Rundlet brings to Humanity United a distinguished background as a foreign policy professional and public servant, most recently as a member of President Obama’s senior staff. At the White House, Rundlet served as the last substantive control point and exercised editorial control over all written information prepared for President Obama, covering the full range of complex policy and political issues, both domestic and international. This required daily and direct contact with all of the President’s senior advisors, and a close working relationship with the President.
“We are thrilled to have Peter join us again at Humanity United,” Randy Newcomb, Humanity United’s president and CEO, said. “Bringing his significant experience and dedication to bear as Humanity United seeks to build peace and advance human freedom in the corners of the globe where these ideals are challenged most will help make our work even more effective. Peter will be a tremendous asset to the human rights community.”
Prior to joining President Obama’s staff, Rundlet previously worked for Humanity United, opening the organization’s Washington, D.C. office in 2007. He also previously held positions as Vice President and Managing Director for National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress, as counsel for the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, and served for nearly four years on President Clinton’s White House staff, as Associate Counsel to the President and White House Fellow in the Office of the Chief of Staff.
“I feel privileged to have served in the Obama administration,” said Rundlet. “Humanity United is an outstanding organization and I look forward to using my recent experience to work with Humanity United during a critical time for Sudan, Liberia, international justice, and human trafficking.”
About Humanity United:
Humanity United is a philanthropic organization committed to building peace and advancing human freedom. We lead, support, and collaborate with a broad network of efforts, ideas, and organizations that share our vision of a world free of conflict and injustice. To learn more, visit HumanityUnited.org.
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June 18, 2010
- SUDAN NOW
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Julia Thornton, 650.587.2016, julia@humanityunited.org
Susan Morgan, 617.797.0451, susan@paxcommunications.org
Jonathan Hutson, 857.919.5130, jhutson@enoughproject.org
Andrea Clarke, 202.460.6756, andrea@savedarfur.org
Mame Annan-Brown, 347.564.2936, annan-brown@genocideintervention.net
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Sudan Now, a campaign launched by leading U.S. anti-genocide and human rights advocacy organizations, announced today the release of the latest in its series of ads targeting Obama administration officials guiding the U.S. policy on Sudan. The new ad, set to appear in Sunday’s Washington Post Outlook section, targets Vice President Joe Biden following the return of his recent trip to Africa, where he made several statements on the increasingly dangerous situation in Sudan. The country faces a vote on southern secession in January 2011, which could trigger Africa’s largest civil war.
Vice President Biden’s remarks made him the highest-ranking member of the Obama administration to express support for Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended civil war in 2005, and the peace process in Darfur. The Sudan Now ad, which will publish on World Refugee Day, asks the vice president to work with President Barack Obama to:
• Make Sudan a centerpiece of their personal diplomacy.
• Step up U.S. support for full implementation of the peace agreement between North and South Sudan, and the pre-referendum negotiations now underway.
• Play a more direct role in revitalizing Darfur’s peace process, ensuring access for humanitarian access for humanitarian assistance and promoting accountability.
In addition to the ad, Sudan Now is asking activists to use Twitter and Facebook to personally thank the vice president and ask for continued engagement on Sudan. Previous Sudan Now ads have targeted President Obama, Secretary Hillary Clinton, Ambassador Susan Rice, members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and members of the National Security Council Deputies Committee, among others.
View latest ads at SudanActionNow.com.
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Sudan Now is a campaign led by a group of prominent anti-genocide and human rights advocacy organizations committed to bringing meaningful and lasting peace to Sudan and encouraging strong American leadership and action to achieve this goal. The campaign challenges President Barack Obama and top U.S. administration officials to live up to their promises to take strong and immediate action to help end the international crisis in Sudan and bring a lasting peace to the people of that country. Organizations participating in the current ad campaign include Humanity United, the Enough Project at the Center for American Progress, Genocide Intervention Network, Stop Genocide Now, and Investors Against Genocide.
Learn more about the campaign
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June 11, 2010
- ATEST
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 11, 2010
Contact: Julia Thornton, 510.593.3604, Julia@humanityunited.org
Vanessa Parra, 202.904.0319, VParra@humanityunited.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, June 14, the U.S. government will release its annual assessment of the phenomenon of human trafficking around the world. In a call with media immediately following the report’s release, leading experts and advocates engaged in the movement to stop human trafficking and modern-day slavery will provide expert reaction and informed response to the report’s content and conclusions.
Anticipated highlights from the 2010 U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons Report include the first-ever self-assessment of trafficking in the United States. The report will also include an assessment of the problem of human trafficking in post-earthquake Haiti, as well as additional insight into emerging global human trafficking trends.
Human trafficking is one of the most profitable criminal industries in the world, along with the illicit trade in drugs and weapons. There are an estimated 27 million slaves in the world today—more than at any time in history.
This event is hosted by the Alliance to End Slavery & Trafficking (ATEST), a coalition of leading U.S.-based anti-slavery and trafficking organizations. ATEST is a project of Humanity United, a California-based philanthropic organization that seeks to build peace and advance human freedom.
TIME: 1:00 p.m. EDT, Monday, June 14, 2010
SPEAKERS:
Dr. Kevin Bales, Founder, Free the Slaves
Siddharth Kara, Author, Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery
Justin Dillon, Director and Producer, CALL + RESPONSE
Additional experts will be on the call and available for comment, including Kay Buck, Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking; Brad Myles, Polaris Project; and Dan Viederman, Verité. The call will be moderated by David Abramowitz, Director of Policy and Government Relations, Humanity United.
DIAL-IN: 866.551.3680 (U.S.) | +1.212.401.6760 (Int’l) | Passcode: 4754529#
Listen to the recorded call
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