By Jessica Reed
George Clooney, together with Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel, pleaded the UN (link to video) to pay more attention to Darfur's genocide, comparing the conflict to the 90's ethnic cleansing in Rwanda. Jane Wells from the Huffington Post called his speech "superb, impassioned and deeply moving". Dailys Kos posted a lenghty blog entry about the humanitarian crisis after admitting that seeing the Clooney video made him realise the importance of the issue. Crooks and liars thinks speaking out on political matters is "a right and a responsability as an American".
A lot can be said about the UN's lack of initiative: the fact that a Hollywood actor, no matter how politically involved, has to beg the UN to step in speaks volume about the organization's inefficiency in peace-keeping or the effective implementation of the principle of humanitarian interference. While I applaude Clooney's effort, I cannot help but feel uneasy at the thought of having artists having to lecture the UN to obtain tangible changes. Alas, at times Hollywood seems to know better than those in charge. As Team America comically points out, maybe we need "Liberal Hollywood" to tell us what to do? (Youtube video)
Eleswhere: Gerard Prunier writing for openDemocracy about Darfur's Sudan problem + in oD's forums, some disagree with the plea for more interventionism.
