12/10/2004

Considering the recent escalation in violence in Darfur by all sides to the conflict, the United States Senate acted wisely in approving the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act 2004, passed on December 7, which calls for sanctions in the event that the Government of Sudan and rebel forces fail to abide by the Ceasefire Agreement set out in N'Djamena in April 2004 and reaffirmed on November 9. By mandating the possibility of targeted sanctions, Congress may be able to counterbalance the earlier decision by the UN Security Council in its latest November 19 Resolution 1574 to appease Sudan in the interests of reaching a peace agreement in the North-South conflict. The decision to grant concessions has failed to encourage any of the parties to the Darfur conflict to abide by the current ceasefire agreements.

The Act delineates "demonstrable steps" that the Government of Sudan must take to avoid the imposition of sanctions. These steps include halting attacks on civilians by the armed forces of Sudan and associated militias; demobilizing and disarming militias supported or created by the Government; allowing full access for humanitarian assistance to Darfur; and cooperating fully with the African Union and the United Nations. If after 120 days the President is unable to certify that these steps have been taken, he may use his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to "block the assets of appropriate senior officials of the Government of Sudan."

Evidence from Darfur suggests that targeted sanctions may be the only way to gain Sudanese compliance to international agreements. Although the November 9 agreement includes additional protocols committing the Government of Sudan and the rebel forces to allowing humanitarian convoys to pass freely and improving security, the security situation on the ground in Darfur is more precarious now than at any time since the initial intervention of the African Union in June. Since agreeing to the protocols on November 9, the Sudan Liberation Army rebels shot a Chadian AU ceasefire monitor on December 1, and they attacked police posts in Kalma camp and Tawilla on November 22. The Government of Sudan responded in Tawilla by bombing 50 yards from a feeding center run by Save the Children. The population was forced to flee, and the UN was forced to evacuate staff, which according to WFP left 300,000 people without assistance for several days. On November 29 the Government presented the country directors of Save the Children and Oxfam with deportation orders, accusing these two major humanitarian organizations with interfering with the politics of the country.

While the number of African Union forces has been increased in Darfur, their mandate remains "monitoring" the ceasefire agreement and intervening to protect civilians in immediate danger, but only if it is within their capacity to do so. Although 3,320 troops have been promised by the AU for Darfur, just under 800 have been deployed to a region the size of France with a population of four million. Many of those deployed are without proper equipment to allow for their own defense if faced with a concerted attack, let alone to protect civilian populations under threat from the Government or Janjaweed militias. While both the U.S. and the EU are working with the AU to provide logistical support, for example, through the provision of C130 transport planes, deployment of troops remains painfully slow. The delayed deployment is also due to the difficulty the AU has in finding qualified troops.

Considering the difficulties the AU is having deploying, the U.S. must redouble efforts to ensure deployment and to provide proper logistics for troops in continued cooperation with European partners. Further, the AU mandate and its interpretation remain a stumbling block for the protection of civilians. Diplomatic efforts must continue to amend the mandate to allow for real protection of internally displaced persons and other civilians in Darfur.

To strengthen international capacity in responding to the crisis in Darfur, the U.S. must consider all possible methods of influence. Of the $1.5 billion requested by the UN on November 30 to support the 2005 Work Plan for Sudan, to date the US is providing over $300 million in funding to the humanitarian effort in Darfur alone and has pledged $75 million to support the AU mission in addition to $40 million already funded. This support is substantial, but even with the contributions from the European Union, the total falls well short of the amounts required. While the efforts of the U.S. to convince partners on the Security Council such as France, China and Russia to take a harder line through sanctions on the Government and the rebels have not met with success, the U.S. Congress and the Administration have at least set an example through the enactment of the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act.

Refugees International therefore recommends that:

• The President of the United States, in keeping with terms of the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act, apply targeted sanctions on the assets and activities of members of the Government of Sudan, the Janjaweed militia, and the rebel groups who fail to abide by the N'djamena Ceasefire Agreement and support or commit atrocities against civilians;
• The U.S. apply diplomatic pressure at the level of the UN Security Council to amend the African Union mandate in Sudan from "monitoring" of ceasefire violations and protection of civilians in the immediate vicinity and under immediate danger to full protection of civilians;
• The U.S. Department of Defense continue to work closely with the AU Mission in Sudan to ensure the rapid deployment of the 3,320 troops to Darfur;
• The U.S. continue to monitor the human rights situation in Darfur through funding of the USAID DART teams in the field and to keep Congress apprised of human rights abuses.