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Video Clip of the Month: Anti-Genocide ‘Paparazzi’

January 1, 2011 by

My January 2011 video clip of the month is a MSNBC news report about an unprecedented plan to use crowdsourcing to stop war and war crimes in their bloody tracks.

The plan, the brainchild of American actor George Clooney, is using commercial satellite images and the Internet to monitor the border between northern and southern Sudan. Oil-rich South Sudan is set to vote Jan. 9 on a proposal to become independent from North Sudan, a move the former U.S. Director of National Intelligenc fears could reignite civil war and lead to genocide.

Under the “Satellite Sentinel Project,” real-time satellite images will be combined with field analysis from the Enough Project and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative to document movements of troops and tanks, masses of people fleeing, or bombed or burned villages. The United Nations Operational Satellite Applications Program will then publish the data online using Google Maps and Google Earth technology for the world to see.

“We want to let potential perpetrators of genocide and other war crimes know that we’re watching, the world is watching,” Clooney said in a prepared statement with John Prendergast, a journalist, human rights activist, and Enough Project co-founder. “War criminals thrive in the dark. It’s a lot harder to commit mass atrocities in the glare of the media spotlight.”

Clooney and Prendergast pointed to western Sudan’s Darfur region, where thousands died and many more were displaced after the government in Khartoum cracked down on a local rebellion. 

“Since photographers could not get access, it took years to amass evidence of genocide,” they said. “But now we can witness in near real-time and put all parties on notice that if they commit war crimes, we will all be watching, and pressuring policymakers to take action.”

While this video clip of the month is a little off topic for my blog, I couldn’t pass it up. The project may represent a historic moment for peacemaking and real chance for peace for the people of South Sudan. That makes great news—and a great video clip—for the new year. Check it out below.

What do you think about Clooney’s anti-genocide “paparazzi?” Please share your thoughts below.

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About Monica

Monica specializes in strategic communications, web and new media, and print materials with an international or multi-cultural context. She has worked on national public outreach campaigns targeting multi-cultural audiences and has conceptualized, written, and/or designed multiple websites. Monica also has written, edited, and/or designed high-profile newsletters, brochures, and reports, including some prepared in collaboration with the White House. She holds a bachelor’s in journalism and a master of international service with a focus on international communication. Monica is based in Washington, D.C.