The U.S. Senate is set to debate a resolution calling on the U.S. government to increase its support for "peace, democracy and development in Somalia." Senate Resolution 460 calls on the President, with the  State Department, to develop an "interagency stabilization and reconstruction strategy" for U.S. activity toward Somalia. It further urges the President to appoint a Special Envoy to Somalia to help guide U.S. policy and interests in the region. While U.S. efforts for peace and democracy in Somalia are welcomed, many fear U.S. engagement in Somalia will only lead to continued instability.

The proliferation of small arms remains a daunting challenge for the African continent; its persistence empowers rebel movements and national governments to foment conflict and commit mass human rights violations. Recognizing the supply and demand pressures for small arms, non-governmental organizations have resolved to act. Three years ago, Amnesty International, Oxfam and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) united to launch the Control Arms Campaign. Last month, the Control Arms Campaign presented UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan the "Million Faces Petition," a visual petition by one million people from over 160 countries calling for tough global controls on the arms trade and an Arms Trade Treaty.

In early June of 2006, Islamic militants stormed Somalia's capital city of Mogadishu--site of the 1993 killings of 18 American marines, captured in the movie Black Hawk Down--and wrested control from several allied warlord militias. The U.S. government, meanwhile, was found to be funneling military support to the warlords in a bid to prevent the spread of what it perceived to be radical Islam and terrorism. Understanding the puzzle of Somalia’s current state and charting a responsible U.S. foreign policy, however, require putting the fragmented pieces of Somalia's history back together.

On June 16th, the world celebrated The Day of the African Child to commemorate student uprisings in Soweto, South Africa in 1976.  Demanding a better quality of education, thousands of black school children took to the streets in protest. Hundreds of children were shot and more than 100 people were killed.   This day honors the memory of those killed and the courage of those who protested.  It supports the important role that children have to play in fighting injustice and bringing about change.