Citizens for Global Solutions

PEACE AND SECURITY | Sudan

Background

Sudan has been in throes of violence almost constantly since it gained its independence in 1956. The most recent publicized conflict is the civil war being fought by the government in Khartoum and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). Peace negotiations, hosted by Kenya in 2003 and 2004, have come close to settling this conflict.

However, as that conflict cools, a new one is boiling in the western region of Darfur. The violence here is more one-sided and more violent than the Khartoum/SPLA war. The conflict began in early 2003, partly due to a call for economic and political rights by citizens in Darfur. They sought to share in Sudan's natural resources and to have a voice in political decisions that affected their lives. Some took up arms against local military outposts.

Government forces and local militias have responded to this by indiscriminately attacking everyone in their path. This scorched earth policy has resulted in thousands of deaths, the destruction of water wells, the elimination of humanitarian assistance access, and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Today

On May 26, 2004, a ceasefire was signed in Naivasha, Kenya ending the 21 year civil war between the North and the South. Three protocols were signed concerning the status of three disputed states in central Sudan, the percentages of power given to each party in a future government, as well as the religious status of the capital Khartoum. However in the midst of negotiations, continued evidence of violence in the Darfur region was reported by Human Rights Watch and the United Nations. In addition to claims of government supported ethnic cleansing in western Sudan, the government has also obstructed humanitarian aid groups from fully deploying in Darfur.

Since violence erupted in Darfur in February 2003, the conflict has claimed some 30,000 lives. Government-sponsored militias accused of ‘ethnic cleansing’ are continuing their attacks and the rainy season will hamper relief efforts. Without immediate action the crisis could consume a further 350,000 lives in the next nine months, mainly from starvation and disease. According to UN estimates 100,000 refugees have been registered in neighboring Chad, and one million people are internally displaced in Sudan itself. The refugees numbers could well be as high as 250,000.

A month ago, on the tenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, the world community contemplated its moral failure in that country and vowed 'never again'. Today, we still face the a potential humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur, but the world has not yet acted.

Charges of war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and even genocide have been used to describe the violence in Darfur, western Sudan. Mukesh Kapila, the former UN humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, said on March 19th that the violence in Darfur is "more than a conflict, it's an organized attempt to do away with one set of people." The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum issued its second ever genocide warning alert on May 20. The UN Security Council also issued a presidential statement on May 25, expressing "grave concern over the deteriorating situation" and called on the government to respect its commitments to the ceasefire of April 8 and agreement to disarm and neutralize the Janjaweed militias.

Despite international and U.S. condemnation of the crisis in Darfur, the Sudanese government has made only nominal gestures with little impact. The Sudanese government has been able to avoid implementing the ceasefire of April 8th, signed by the government with the rebels of Darfur, by monopolizing the desire of leading international states not to compromise the peace talks of the North and South, the country's 21 year civil war.

In the midst of all this, Sudan was elected to the UN's Commission on Human Rights, as it was included in the African region's slate of nations to fill four African seats on the Commission. In protest, the U.S. walked out of the Commission room before the vote was called. The U.S., along with other nations and nongovernmental organizations, is working to increase the number of democracies playing important roles in UN bodies.

+ READ MORE ON THE CRISIS IN DARFUR

Citizens for Global Solutions co-sponsored a letter with Refugees International to The President and cc. Secretary of State Colin Powell calling for specific action on Darfur.

July 30 - UN Security Council Passes resolution 1556, giving the government of Sudan 30 days to disarm the Janjaweed, otherwise economic/ military sanctions will be considered]

July 26 - U.S. Congress declares Darfur a Genocide

July 20 - Americans Support Intervention to Stop Killing in Darfur

July 1 - Annan and Powell Visit Darfur, Sudan

Updated July 30, 2004

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