U.S. and European Media

November 15, 2022

The Wall Street Journal: Games Backers Play Up Green. Concerns are mounting that the Beijing 2008 Olympics could face a rash of bad publicity. If so, how can corporate sponsors avoid getting hit? Already, some activist groups say they are broadening their attention from attacking China's government to targeting Olympic sponsors. Next week, Olympic Dream for Darfur, a New York-based activist group protesting China's support for the armed conflict in Sudan, plans to release a report grading 19 Olympic corporate sponsors on their attempts to influence the Chinese government. (The group gave passing grades to only a few sponsors.) China has been under pressure because it has large investments in Sudan and is perceived to be using its influence to prevent United Nations intervention in the conflict. The Darfur activists are a force to be reckoned with: In the last year, pressure from such groups has prompted some 20 U.S. states and several universities, including Harvard, to divest billions of dollars from companies linked to Sudan. "This will only get more uncomfortable for organizers and sponsors," says Jill Savitt, the group's director.

Associated Press: UN: Darfur Peacekeeping Faces Failure. A joint peacekeeping force will not be prepared to take over in Darfur by the start of 2008 unless Sudan quickly accepts units from outside Africa and contributing countries offer critical equipment, a top U.N. official warned Wednesday. Jean-Marie Guehenno said the world could face a grim choice: either delay the takeover or start the deployment with an ill-equipped force that may not be able to protect its own peacekeepers, let alone civilians. The United Nations has already been wrangling with Sudan over the U.N.-African Union mission for over a year while the conflict in Darfur has raged. Guehenno, the U.N. undersecretary-general for peacekeeping operations, expressed frustration with Sudan for resisting critical contributions from Thailand, Nepal and Nordic countries. But he also criticized U.N. member countries for failing to offer helicopters and other equipment. ''If those issues are not addressed very shortly, it means the mission in 2008 will not be able to make the difference that the world wants to it to make and that it may become a failure,'' Guehenno told reporters after briefing the Security Council. The 26,000-member force still needs 18 transport helicopter and 6 support light helicopters crucial for sending reinforcements swiftly in emergencies, he said. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is in constant talks with defense ministers around the world, but has yet to receive concrete offers, Guehenno said.

Reuters: AU Envoy Flexible on Darfur Talks Venue. The African Union's Darfur envoy on Wednesday said he was prepared to conduct part of the peace talks between rebels and the government outside Libya. The concession could remove a significant stumbling block for some Darfur insurgents who have so far refused to attend the negotiations, saying Libya is politically too close to their opponents in the Sudanese government. Salim Ahmed Salim told reporters that while negotiations would conclude as planned, in the Libyan town of Sirte, "specific areas could be discussed in one place or another." When asked to clarify the position, the chief U.N. negotiator for the talks, Taye-Brook Zerihoun, told Reuters: "If it comes to it that all sides are against the venue, then we are not going to sacrifice the talks for the venue." Salim's U.N. counterpart Jan Eliasson, speaking to journalists with Salim on Wednesday, said he was now stepping up efforts to encourage some of the larger rebel forces to find common ground and attend the second round of negotiations with Sudan's government in December. Eliasson and Salim spoke after flying into Khartoum from the Eritrean capital Asmara. They said they had held consultations with representatives of governments neighboring Sudan including Eritrea's president Isaias Afwerki.

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