I do wish he was still in the Senate.

That annihilated Walker in the recall election.

He abandoned us at our time of greatest need. Sorry, I am really ticked at Russ.

Congo is the rape capital of the world. The genocide of 6 million people has taken place there in the past 15 years.

This is a world history making event which will save millions of lives.

I have never been so proud of anyone. He had the right character and knowledge to be a peacemaker.

When I hear the phrase "Be the change you want to see in the world" I think of Russ Feingold.

Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo Russell D. Feingold Briefing on the Kampala Talks and the Situation in the Great Lakes Region

MODERATOR: Good morning, everyone. We're pleased today to have Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo Russ Feingold, who will brief us on the Kampala talks and the situation in the Great Lakes region. Just a reminder that this is an on-the-record briefing. Special Envoy Feingold will open with a few introductory remarks, and after that point we'll be ready for your questions and answers. With that, Special Envoy Feingold, if you'll start us off.

MR. FEINGOLD: Good morning, everybody, and thank you for your interest and your participation. I'll just make a few comments and then, of course, will be happy to answer any questions.

I started this position in July, but I've been trying to follow events in this region throughout my career in the Senate, where I was either a member or chairman or ranking member of the Africa subcommittee in the Senate. So when Secretary Kerry contacted me and asked me to take this position, I already realized that this was one of the most serious crises in the world, as you - many of you already know. Some five to six million people have died in the course of 20 years of this conflict. There is unspeakable violence, sexual violence against women and children, children being conscripted into the military, and there continues to be something like dozens of - as many as 40 to 45, perhaps - armed illegal groups in eastern Congo.

So it's one of the greatest crises in the world, but it's easy for people to confuse what's really happening in terms of the attempt to try to turn this around. There are really two different processes that are in place and they are unconnected to each other formally, but are related to each other. One is the framework agreement, which is the agreement that was signed in Addis Ababa by 11 nations from the region, including the critical ones - DRC - the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda. But these agreements were signed also under the auspices of the African Union and the United Nations. And that is where the significant international involvement in trying to resolve this problem under the Framework for Peace, Security and Cooperation really started in its most recent phase last - and that's just this past February. So that's one part of the process, and in my view, and I think the view of the international community and the envoys, that's the most important avenue for trying to resolve the fundamental problems. So that's one of the processes.

The other one, though, is what you've been hearing about in the last few days that has a significant relationship to this, and that's the so-called Kampala talks. Before the framework, last year in December, after the M23 rebel group had taken over Goma and had further roiled the situation in eastern Congo, independently of the United Nations, President Museveni, the President of Uganda, tried to broker talks between the M23 and President Kabila and Democratic Republic of Congo. These, sponsored by the so-called ICGLR, the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region, are what are known as the Kampala talks being held in Kampala, Uganda.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201311071541.html

I was touched by the sincerity of U.S. Special Envoy Feingold as I watched Georges and Jake hand him an open letter from 73 campuses. On November 19, my Enough Project colleagues and I accompanied Georges and Jake to a meeting with the special envoy. As representatives of the growing student movement, Georges and Jake presented Special Envoy Feingold with a letter bearing the signatures of leaders representing 73 campuses from around the world, calling for peace in Congo. Student demand for action is quantified by the letter, but it is the intangible and ongoing qualities of this movement that are its greatest strengths.

Georges is a student at Georgetown College who grew up in Rutshuru, Congo, and has experienced firsthand the incredible violence his country has been struggling to cast off for decades. Jake is a student at the College of William and Mary who grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and has realized his ability to make a difference in Congo by calling on his own country to uphold ethical policies and business practices. Both Georges and Jake are members of the Conflict-Free Campus Initiative.
While the purpose of the meeting on the 19th was to deliver the letter, the message of the discussion reached far beyond the words contained in the letter.

Georges recounted the violence inflicted upon his community back home in eastern Congo, and explained how the death of two cousins and the rape of his younger sister forced his family to flee for fear of further attacks. Last year, Georges was able to come to the U.S. to continue his studies with the help of an American doctor who agreed to be his sponsor. While many of us, if faced with similar situations, would never even consider returning to a place that holds so many traumatic memories, Georges is determined to go back to Rutshuru and create a sustainable community development initiative to deal with the root causes of the conflict. Such a goal may seem unreasonable or at least unwise given the perceived instability in the region, but thanks to the efforts of long-time advocates such as Jake and his fellow Congo activists at William and Mary, the situation on the ground is now changing, creating space for initiatives like the one that Georges has proposed.

http://www.enoughproject.org/blogs/us-special-envoy-feingold-receives-73-campus-open-letter

Lisa Bryant December 13, 2013

PARIS — U.S. Special Envoy to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Russ Feingold has hailed as potentially historic a peace deal signed between the Congolese government and the M23 rebel movement. But Feingold, who attended the event in Nairobi, says much more needs to be done to turn around a country and region plagued by years of conflict. Special Envoy Russ Feingold described the peace deal signed just hours before as a real chance to turn around troubled and resource-rich Democratic Republic of Congo. "While this is only a first step, it is a very big step, maybe an historic step," said Feingold. "Stopping the M23 rebellion, which was causing enormous harm to the people of eastern Congo, is a major stop in the right direction that I think most people wouldn't have thought possible even a year ago."

Feingold spoke by telephone from the Paris airport, en route to Washington from Nairobi, where Congolese government and the M23 signed a deal Thursday to end one of DRC's most serious rebellions in a decade. Congolese officials have refrained from calling the deal a peace agreement, but Feingold said that, in effect, is what it is. "And we want to work with countries in the region not only to get rid of other armed groups, which I think that we can do, working with the United Nations force, but also to provide opportunities for economic development and prosperity," said Feingold. "So this is a really good step in the right direction."

The agreement marks a major turnaround from just over a year ago, when the M23 rebels occupied large chunks of eastern Congo, and briefly captured North Kivu's provincial capital of Goma. But this is hardly the first peace deal in a region where an array of armed groups still operate. Feingold says this one is different. Countries in the region co-sponsored the talks that were carried out publicly and with the involvement of international observers.

"It also is different in that amnesty is not offered to rebels who are involved in war crimes or crimes against humanity," said Feingold. "That was a mistake that was made in the past - and it will not be repeated under this agreement." Feingold outlined a series of steps needed in the coming months, including reforming the Congolese military and strengthening democracy and the country's justice system. He says relatively modest investments from the international community can help bring about change and new opportunities for one of the world's most problematic regions.

http://www.voanews.com/content/us-special-envoy-calls-drc-peace-deal-big-step/1809631.html

By Associated Press, Updated: Saturday, March 1, 2:23 AM

WASHINGTON — Guest lineups for the Sunday TV news shows:

ABC’s “This Week” — Ben Affleck; Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill.; Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia; former Sen. Russell Feingold, special envoy for the African Great Lakes region and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/guest-lineups-for-the-sunday-news-shows/2014/03/01/b8fc1ba2-a11a-11e3-878c-65222df220eb_story.html

Affleck casts spotlight on situation in Congo



Actor Ben Affleck, left, and US Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa Russ Feingold, speak about Congo as they are interviewed by the Associated Press at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014. Affleck and Feingold are schedules to testify on Capitol Hill before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on prospects for Peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Great Lakes Region. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

http://www.boston.com/2014/02/26/affleck-casts-spotlight-situation-congo/Dc2swcV2hNvwjuxG3CDVHM/story.html

Listen here: http://www.tavissmileyradio.com/russ-feingold-making-peace-in-the-democratic-republic-of-congo/


Russ on his way to see the mountain gorillas

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/03/russ-feingold-congo-104535.html#.U1Ly3nQo7WM

June 6 2014 at 11:45am
By Peter Jones

Kinshasa - The top US envoy to Africa's Great Lakes region called on Thursday for Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila to respect a constitutional term limit and step aside when the country organises polls in 2016. Several African leaders have sought to extend their rule by amending their constitutions, and speculation is growing that Kabila may seek a third term despite a two-term limit stipulated in Article 220 of Congo's national charter. The president, who came to power after the 2003 murder of his father President Laurent Kabila and won his first elected term in a 2006 election, has not revealed his intentions. Government officials deny he plans to alter the constitution.

“Our strong advice is that there is a global election calendar with the presidential elections no later than the end of 2016, and (that there should be) no attempt to disregard the unamendable stipulation of article 220,” US special envoy Russ Feingold told a news conference in the capital Kinshasa. His comments echoed those of US Secretary of State John Kerry during a visit to Congo last month and came at the end of a regional tour with special envoys from the European Union, African Union and the United Nations.

Last month Congo's elections commission published details of local, municipal and urban elections which are due to take place in the second half of 2015, but a programme for a presidential vote is still pending.

“The local elections are expensive but are not required by the constitution,” said Feingold. “Organising and financing these, but not the (presidential) elections, which are required by the constitution, is not a believable approach.” Feingold said holding elections was crucial for the continued development of Congo, a vast and disordered Central African nation where millions have been killed in various internal wars since the late 1990s, but has seen strong growth in recent years, particularly in its mining sector.

Read more: http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/envoy-pushes-kabila-to-respect-law-1.1699597#.U5HhsvldWM4