Ex-Obama aide calls for renewed global effort to combat genocide

Samantha Power, a professor of government at Harvard University and former foreign policy adviser to the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), analyzed the current challenges to combating genocide around the world in a speech before a packed audience in Dodds Auditorium on Friday.

Power’s speech, titled “War Crimes and Genocide Today: What Can One Person Do?” focused on the changing dynamic of worldwide responses to genocide, specifically comparing the worldwide reactions to the 1994 Rwandan genocide and the current conflict in Darfur, Sudan.

While more than 800,000 Rwandans died in the 100-day conflict that tore apart their nation, Power said, the international response to the killings was strikingly slow. Power recalled former congresswoman Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.) noting that she received concerned phone calls about Rwanda’s endangered animal species but comparatively few about the safety of Rwandan citizens during the 1994 conflict.

“There was an endangered species movement, but there wasn’t an endangered people’s movement,” Power said.

In contrast, the situation has changed with the situation in Darfur, said Power, who praised journalists and student groups for bringing the present-day genocide into the international spotlight.

Public advocacy is important because “democracies were never going to gravitate to putting resources on the line to rescue foreigners,” Power said. Human nature dictates that a person prioritize personal and national wellbeing over devoting resources to helping others, and advocacy efforts can help the public overcome that feeling, she explained.

Drawing heavily from her newly released book, “Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World,” which catalogs the work of Sergio Vieira de Mello, the late U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights, Power stressed the need for individual commitment to international issues.

De Mello helped her realize that the international community is still too focused on the actions of states rather than transnational organizations like terrorist groups, Power said. The United Nations is also limited by its dependence on national governments and heads of state, she added.

De Mello recognized the importance of respecting others in the international community and allowing other nations to self-govern, Power explained. The United States should “inject a little regard for dignity into our bilateral relationships,” as well as be more willing to talk to those that disagree with U.S. policy positions, Power noted.

Power expressed a continuing concern over long-term international commitments to multilateral action by governments faced with difficult problems in Iraq and around the world. She noted the increasing reluctance on the part of America’s allies, like Germany and Canada, to participate in U.S.-led international actions — even the multilateral security effort in Afghanistan — due to a growing lack of trust in the United States.

Power explained that she was worried by the growing sentiment that “it’s just too hard, we don’t know what we’re doing, let’s stay home.” She instead called for a thorough examination of “what [we are] willing to put on the line.”

Tanya De Mello GS, a student in the Wilson School, said she was particularly inspired by Power’s depiction of Vieira de Mello because of his ability to overcome difficulties and effect international change.

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“She was trying to mobilize us, as students, to think of ways in which we can make changes,” De Mello explained. “There is a need for us to act for the interest of people outside of our country, [and] she wanted us to believe that one person can make a difference.”

Aaron Abelson ’11, an aspiring Wilson School major, explained he also thought Power was effective in reaching out to students.