Sudan government signs peace treaty with southern rebels, but Darfur problem remains News
Sudan government signs peace treaty with southern rebels, but Darfur problem remains

[JURIST] The government of Sudan (official website here) and anti-government rebels in the south of the country Friday signed the final parts of a peace deal ending some 21 years of war in the oil-rich region. The deal fulfills a commitment made to the UN Security Council to resolve the conflict by the end of 2004, but does not directly affect the situation in Sudan's western Darfur region, where fighting with local militias has precipitated a humanitarian crisis that the United States has called "genocide". Reuters has more, plus a review of the key terms of the six peace protocols.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Georgia became first US state to ban lynching

On December 20, 1893, Georgia became the first state in the Union to pass a law against lynching, making the act punishable by four years in prison. The statute was not particularly effective—read the text of the 1899 pamphlet Lynch Law in Georgia by anti-lynching activist Ida Wells-Barnett.