John Prendergast
John Prendergast
John Prendergastis an American human rights activist, author, and former Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council. He is the Founding Director of the Enough Project, a nonprofit human rights organization affiliated with the Center for American Progress. Prendergast is a board member and serves as Strategic Advisor to Not On Our Watch Project. He is a member of the faculty and Advisory Board of the International Peace and Security Institute...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionActivist
Date of Birth21 March 1963
CountryUnited States of America
If you repress rather than unlock the potential of large groups of Americans, what's that going to do to our economy? It's going to contract, not expand.
I'm probably a little too impatient with ensuring that the networks and organizations I'm part of are doing the right thing, and pushing the right thing the right way.
And then here come the Janjaweed on camel or on horseback, ... They come rolling into the town, shooting and torching the village, often bringing women to the side and raping women indiscriminately. And in order to ensure that the destruction is complete, the government either sends ground forces to oversee the operation, or the attack helicopters, which often are the most deadly things.
Early adopters of digital cameras most often printed at home, if they printed at all - there weren't many options yet available or convenient. Now the infrastructure to get digital prints at retail is in place and consumers are adopting this behavior more quickly, ... As the quality, functionality and ease-of-use of camera phones improve, we see users gravitating to the service, quality and cost-effectiveness of the retail destination.
It turns out, all the studies show you invest a little time in another person's life, often a younger person, and all of us have that capacity to do it, just an hour a week, an hour every couple of weeks, and you can make a tremendous difference in a kid's life over their lifetime.
The biggest road block to action on genocide and other human rights crimes is ignorance. Most people just don't know that such things are happening, and often, if they have a vague idea they are happening, there is a feeling that there is nothing that can be done to stop these crimes.
The U.S. has not been forward-leaning on this issue. It's disingenuous to claim that the United Nations is not doing all it should.
They would give away the one card they have, which is military pressure, before being certain of movement implementing the peace deal.
Americans' perceptions of Africa remain rooted in troubling stereotypes of helplessness and perpetual crisis.
There isn't one celebrity I've worked with who doesn't have major doubts about what impact they are having. I am glad when they question the impact, because it shows they are based firmly in the reality that peacemaking isn't the same as changing a streetlight or distributing mosquito nets.
A fragile consensus has collapsed under the weight of the Sudan government's artful diplomacy campaign. It played chicken with the broad international community, and once again the international community drove off the road.
Every time we have offered incentives to the government of Sudan, they've pocketed those incentives and continued on with their policies.
I spent a lot of time with President Mandela supporting his efforts in the peace process in Burundi. The thing that impressed me the most was his humility.
Africans are on the front lines of humanitarian efforts, distributing life-saving aid in dangerous environments. Africans comprise the vast majority of peacekeepers in civil conflict on that continent. Africans for the most part lead peace negotiations for the wars being fought in Africa.