John Prendergast (L) George Clooney (C) in Sudan
For the New Year, George Clooney and Google have launched a crowd-sourced new way of holding the government of Sudan accountable for making war noises and human rights atrocities–Satellite Sentinel. North and South Sudan bear a heavy weight of border tension and conflict–one of the most deadly conflicts since World War II. Southern Sudan, according to some experts, is the part of the world most likely to tip into a situation of genocide.
Clooney and John Prendergast released a statement, in part: We were late to Rwanda. We were late to the Congo. We were late to Darfur. There is no time to wait. With your support, we will swiftly call the world to witness and respond. We aim to provide an ever more effective early-warning system: better, faster visual evidence and on-the-ground reporting of human rights concerns to facilitate better, faster responses.
This is why we have launched the Satellite Sentinel Project. There has never been a sustained effort to systematically monitor potential hot spots and threats to human security, in near real-time, with the aim of heading off humanitarian disaster and war crimes before they occur.
Satellite Sentinel uses the ever-advancing technology of Google Earth and satellite cameras to observe and broadcast activity in the hot zone–in the face of government denial of abuses and war crimes, now remote cameras can provide a record–and in real time, we, the rest of the world, can watch and hold them accountable. In just about a week, on January 9, the vote from Southern Sudan will decide if they will secede from the rest of the nation–and it is expected to result in tremendous violence. Take action here to sign a petition and join the movement, spread the word, and keep an eye on a war zone before war breaks out.
Change by Doing 