05/28/2004

Refugees International welcomes the successful conclusion of the long-standing negotiations between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, the rebel group based in the south, to end the 21-year civil war that has left thousands dead and more than four million displaced. But at the very moment that the peace agreement was signed, fresh evidence from Human Rights Watch and the United Nations emerged of the campaign of ethnic cleansing in Darfur and the obstruction of relief efforts by the Sudanese government. The United States and member states of the European Union and the African Union need to commit far greater political, diplomatic, and financial resources towards protecting the beleaguered displaced people of Darfur.

A ceasefire signed in Chad on April 8th between the Government of Sudan and the Darfur-based rebel movements is nominally in place. Eyewitness accounts by refugees and displaced persons, however, describe continuing assaults on African civilians by the Arab militia, the Janjaweed, the proxy force for the central government in Khartoum. The Janjaweed have burned entire villages, raped women and girls, stolen and killed livestock, and poisoned wells. The terrorized population of Darfur has abandoned their villages and fled to towns or across the border into Chad. The United Nations is now estimating that two million people will require humanitarian assistance for the balance of 2004.

The Government of Sudan continues to place obstacles to international agencies seeking to respond to the crisis. On May 27th, The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, condemned the Sudanese government for imposing regulations on relief operations, which will have the effect of preventing agencies from reaching the displaced. The Sudanese are insisting, for example, that all medical supplies shipped into the country be tested prior to use. The Government is also requiring relief supplies to be transported on Sudanese trucks and distributed by Sudanese agencies, even though transport and organizational capacity is extremely limited. The only plausible explanation of these regulations is that the Government of Sudan, despite their repeated pledges to the contrary, simply does not want a large-scale presence of international agencies in Darfur.

The United States and the European Union are pinning their hopes on a ceasefire monitoring team to be organized and deployed by the member states of the African Union. RI recommends that the African Union monitoring team be given the mandate and the means to protect civilians in Darfur and to bring violations of human rights and international humanitarian law to the immediate attention of the Government of Sudan and to the U.S., member states of the EU, and other members of the international community.

RI continues to believe that a UN Security Council resolution on Darfur is required to define the actions needed by the Government of Sudan and the consequences for non-compliance. Absent such a resolution, we fear that the Government of Sudan will continue to manipulate the international community, making fine-sounding but ultimately meaningless commitments, while people in Darfur continue to suffer from attacks and lack of access to life-saving aid.

Joel R. Charny is Vice President for Policy of Refugees International.