A Peace Agreement Challenged by Impunity

While Canadians prepare for a federal election on May 2, mediators helped by Qatari state minister Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud are preparing the final draft of a peace agreement hoped to end the eight-year armed conflict in Darfur. The draft will be submitted to the Sudanese government and the two rebel factions, the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), in the last week of April. The leaders of the LJM are optimistic that a suitable agreement will be found before the 27 April deadline, but JEM officials have said they will only sign an agreement “if the Sudanese government accepts all our positions”, the most significant of which is a regional authority in Darfur. All Darfur stakeholders, including LJM, JEM, tribal leaders, refugee and IDP representatives, and civil society groups will meet in Doha to debate and hopefully adopt the peace agreement from 18-23 May of this year. The international community must maintain pressure on the government and the rebel groups to come to an agreement that includes the interests of all, especially the displaced persons of Darfur.

One thing that may give the rebel groups leverage in relation to the government in Khartoum is the recent acceptance by President Omar al-Bashir of responsibility for the conflict in Darfur. President al-Bashir sat down with the Guardian of the UK for an exclusive interview – “the first with a Western news agency since he was charged with genocide by the international criminal court “. While his acceptance of responsibility for deaths in Darfur is notable, al-Bashir continues to deny the charges of the ICC as political and says the numbers of deaths and displaced persons released by the UN are grossly exaggerated.

President al-Bashir’s continuing denial of the charges of the ICC is not helping to end the impunity currently enjoyed by those attacking aid workers in Darfur. According to the Aid Worker Security Database, Sudan is second only to Afghanistan in terms of the number of incidents of aid workers being killed or injured. This creates a tense situation where aid workers are becoming reluctant to enter some of the areas most affected by the conflict due to the lack of security. UN officials are also unsure of the best way to deal with the situation, given the lack of judicial infrastructure in Darfur and the worry that giving in to the demands of kidnappers may further encourage violence against aid workers.

IRIN has reported: “The latest incident against aid workers was resolved on 13 April when the African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and camp leaders successfully mediated the release of 12 Sudanese aid workers who had been taken hostage by a youth group at Kalma camp for the internally displaced in South Darfur.

The aid workers had been conducting a vaccination campaign and were taken hostage in retaliation for the arrest, four days earlier, of an IDP who worked for a national NGO. “

If the peace agreement currently being formulated is to have any real effect or to encourage reconciliation and peace amongst the peoples of Darfur, the impunity currently being enjoyed by those who attack aid workers, as well as by the president of Sudan, must end.

The Zamzam Refugee Camp

The Zamzam Refugee Camp in Darfur is one of the world’s largest refugee camps, home to over 200,000 residents. Radio Dabagna, an independent news outlet in Darfur, has reported on the conditions in Zamzam for the past few months. After reading a handful of reports, it becomes quite clear that the situation in this refugee camp is quite possibly the worst it has ever been. Amid post-referendum news in South Sudan and continued air strikes in Libya, the renewed fighting and worsening humanitarian situation in Darfur has gotten very little media attention in Canadian and other Western news outlets. In January, there were reports that there had been over 16,000 new arrivals to Zamzam in the month of January alone after renewed attacks from government forces. These people fled to the camps after having their possessions taken by government forces and their villages burned. On February 17th, Radio Dabanga reported that government authorities imposed a day-long blockade on the camp. Aid workers, doctors, and other supplies were prevented from entering or exiting the camp while the government forces were there. Conspicuously absent through the ordeal were UNAMID forces. On March 7th, after the arrival of more than 31,000 new refugees in the matter of weeks, Radio Dabanga reported that access to food, water, and shelter was very limited for these new arrivals, with a majority of the migrants living without food, water or shelter for the time being. Predictably, there have been concerns about the rising spread of disease in the camp as well. On March 17, soldiers from the Central Reserve Force militia opened fire in the Zamzam market, spreading panic but not killing any civilians. Then, on March 20, government forces entered Zamzam, killed one man, arrested 15 others and spread fear and insecurity among the residents. Most recently, Radio Dabanga has reported that government forces are still imposing a blockade on the camp, allowing very few food, medical and water supplies to be brought to the camp from Al-Fashir.

Canadian and foreign governments and media need to shed more light on the horrible conditions inside Darfur right now. The conditions inside Zamzam are sure to worsen, and yet aid groups have been slow to publicize the conditions inside the camps and the debilitating restrictions imposed on them by the Sudanese government for fear of retaliation. Make sure that Canadian leaders know that you care about the worsening condition in Darfur by signing our petition here. 

Aid Groups Tread Lightly in Darfur

The situation for aid groups in Darfur is still precarious. After nearly 40 percent of the relief ogranizations in Darfur were expelled by President Bashir in 2009 following the issuance of his arrest warrent by the ICC, the remaining groups have struggled to fill the gaps in humanitarian aid. The Sudanese government has proved to be swift in its reactionary policies if groups raise international concern. One of the largest humanitarian relief organizations operating in Darfur, Catholic Relief Services, delayed publicising Khartoum’s notification that the government could no longer assure CRS’ security, for fear that it would further jeopardize CRS’ future in Darfur. As The Enough Project and other outlets have reported, the northern government often uses these security concerns as a means to expel groups from areas where the government is carrying out attacks on rebel forces. The UN and AU often have failed to report on these security concerns because of Bashir’s credible threats to expel further aid groups, as reported by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. This is a situation worth raising alarm over as only since December of 2010 over 70,000 people have been displaced due to fighting in Darfur. With food aid becoming increasingly scarce, Canada and the international community need to refocus attention to Darfur as the humanitarian situation in the region is now at its worst point since the outbreak of fighting in 2003.

Internal Tensions

The soon to be independent South Sudan is already experiencing internal strife. More than fifty people have been killed in the last two days of fighting between government and militia forces. From Al-Jazeera, a spokesman from the SPLA, Philip Aguer, “repeated accusations that Sudan’s northern government was arming rebel groups to try and disrupt the region ahead of its split and keep control of its oil.” This tactic of funding rebel factions within a neighboring country is ubiquitous among weak African states. States have often provided funding and protection for rebel groups as a means to weaken a neighboring country, rather than have military forces leave the capital city and risk losing control of their own country. 

Independence for South Sudan! and Other News

Independence is finally official! The Southern Sudan Referendum Commission formally announced that 98.83% of voters opted for secession, creating the 193rd country in the world. The results, though anticipated by all, were met with celebrations in Juba, congratulations from world leaders such as United States Secretary Clintonand UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and acceptance by the government of President Omar al-Bashir in northern Sudan. While congratulations and celebrations are undoubtedly in order, there remain many obstacles to sustainable peace and development in both northern and southern Sudan.

— The combination of rising prices for petrol and food, decades of political oppression, and the revolutionary fervor currently sweeping the Arab world is causing tensions in northern Sudan.

— As might be expected, the process of reorganizing the Sudanese army to respect the new sovereignty of Southern Sudan has not been going smoothly, as southern troops in the Sudan Armed Forces resisted redeployment in the north, resulting in violent clashes in northern South Sudan.

— “Do you know Khartoum is not for the Arabs? This is Sudanese land, for the black people.”
“But North Sudan too?”
“Is ours. They are very strong with the Arabs but one time we will go and take that country.”

This is a quote from a man in South Sudan interviewed by France24. While one can hope it is a view not widely shared, the first five minutes or so of this video point to serious underlying tension and lingering resentment of the north on the part of some in South Sudan.

— The location of the capital of South Sudan remains a contentious issue.

— The question of what to do with the small but symbolically significant region of Abyei remains unanswered. The role of the international community in helping to resolve this issue (see Emma’s past blog post for more info) is also controversial, with civil society leaders in Abyei berating the unfocused attempts by the U.S. to formulate an agreement between north and south.

— Speaking of the U.S., props to the White House for this video on the U.S. in Sudan and their support for the referendum.

If you want to see a good quality video of the referendum processing in various parts of the country and an unfortunately apathetic statement by Ambassador Dane Smith that his “appointment indicates increased investment on the part of the United States in the diplomacy of Darfur”, it is worth 15 minutes of your time. Let’s just hope that Ambassador Smith was having an off day and normally is more invested in his job, especially since Darfur remains a highly volatile region, as attested to by recent fighting in North and South Darfur between government and rebel troops, responsible for the displacement of 40,000 people.

— In more positive news, Emmanuel Jal is coming to Canada as part of his We Want Peace tour!  Here’s hoping he makes it to Montreal and in the meantime:

Given all of the above, we here at the Policy and Communications Committee are redoubling our efforts to make this blog a relevant source for updates on the Sudan, so we need YOU to help us continue to pressure the Canadian government to actively support peace in Sudan. Send a postcard to the PM or to your MP today!

And finally, congrats South Sudan on a successful referendum!

Beats for Peace.

This is a great video. Let’s think about peace.

Rising Tensions in Sudan

DSPN is entering the blogosphere.

In an effort to make our organization more relevant and interactive, the Policy and Communications Team of the Darfur/Sudan Peace Network is launching our first blog. Starting now.

We’d like to use this outlet as a way to provide insight and updates on the peace process in Darfur, the upcoming referendum in Southern Sudan, and ongoing humanitarian efforts in Sudan and the Sudanese Diaspora.

The referendum in South Sudan is scheduled for January 9th. While international support for a peaceful and fair referendum is high, some critical aspects of pre-election planning are yet to be determined. This post will be dedicated to the most precarious of pre-election issues:

Abyei

The status of a referendum in the region of Abyei, slated to be held at the same time as the Southern Sudanese vote, is becoming increasingly questionable. Abyei’s referendum will determine its status as either part of North Sudan or South Sudan, should the South vote to succeed. Recently the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the National Congress Party (NCP) of the central government failed to come to agreement on the issue of voter eligibility in Abyei. Yesterday Didiri Mohammad Ahmad, of the National Congress Party (NCP), said that holding a referendum on January 9th in Abyei is “not possible”. Meanwhile, residents of Abyei have raised the option of holding a “self-run referendum” if the Northern government decides to delay the vote.

Abyei was one of the more contentious pieces of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the SPLM and NCP. As the referendum nears, the progress of talks on Abyei could well determine the trajectory of the referendum as a whole.

Keep posted! There is more happening in Sudan right now than we’ll be able to keep up with. Check out the following websites to keep up-to-date:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/africa/

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/

http://www.sudantribune.com/

 

from news.bbc.co.uk