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Sudan

Field Reports  In-Depth Reports  Letters & Testimonies

Overview
The signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005 brought an end to the 21-year civil war between north and south Sudan. Refugees and internally displaced people are now returning to the south, but basic infrastructure and services remain poor, making successful reintegration an ongoing challenge. Conflict threatens to spark again in contested border areas, while upcoming 2009 elections could also impact peace and security. In Darfur, the situation continues to deteriorate, with no ongoing peace process, restricted humanitarian access, and still only a limited presence of peacekeeping forces.

Current Humanitarian Situation in South Sudan
An estimated 2 million of the more than 4 million people displaced by the north-south conflict have returned home. However, the scale of need in south Sudan is immense, and communities are very vulnerable to a new humanitarian crisis and outbreaks of further conflict if gaps in basic services go unaddressed. Resources pledged by donor governments, must be delivered to ensure that returning Sudanese, as well as recipient communities, gain greater access to water, medical assistance, education, and sustainable livelihoods. Local women’s groups must be assisted to enable their participation in the reintegration of returnees.

> Read our Field Report "South Sudan: Peace Dividends or Peace Penalties?"

Current Humanitarian Situation in Darfur
Civilian protection in Darfur remains a serious concern. More than 2.2 million internally displaced people are in Darfur and over 200,000 are living in refugee camps in Chad. Government forces and government-backed militias are attacking displacement camps, rebel groups have splintered into numerous factions, and increasing insecurity has been forcing more civilians to flee their homes. The UN peacekeeping mission, UNAMID, lacks adequate resources and troops, and humanitarian workers are unable to access the most vulnerable due to insecurity and to government impediments. Refugees International is particularly concerned about sexual violence against women in Darfur and about the difficulties faced by civil society organizations who try to assist survivors.

Action Needed

  • The US must provide diplomatic support to the full implementation of the CPA and the resumption of a Darfur peace process.
  • The Government of Southern Sudan must make community recovery and return assistance a much higher priority while donor governments should provide flexible and timely funding to improve basic services and access to livelihoods.
  • The international community must ensure that peacekeeping forces are fully deployed and equipped, and focused on civilian protection, particularly for women.
  • The international community must insist on humanitarian access to people in need of assistance, and on protection for local human rights defenders.
Field Reports
South Sudan: Urgent Action Needed To Avert Collapse
03/26/2009

International engagement is urgently needed to rescue south Sudan from the brink of an unfolding crisis. The perilous situation is being ignored amid the focus on the indictment of President Al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court. Approximately two million people have returned to south Sudan since 2005 to extreme poverty. Social services and livelihood opportunities for communities remain minimal while tribal tensions and localized conflicts are on the rise. South Sudan is also facing an economic crisis due to the drop in oil prices, creating the potential for new insecurity. If these threats are not addressed, the implosion of the south will shatter any realistic prospect for peace in Sudan as a whole, including the Darfur region.
Sudan: UNMIS Must be More Proactive in Protecting Civilians
01/07/2009
Sudan is entering a volatile period in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The risk of violent outbreaks is acute. The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) was deployed with a mandate to observe and monitor CPA implementation, and is therefore both ill-equipped and ill-disposed to engage in civilian protection efforts. Given the heightened risk of violence, the UN Secretariat must insist that UNMIS concentrate on proactive measures to prevent conflict and protect civilians. The mission must develop a more comprehensive and inclusive protection planning mechanism. Finally, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations must establish clear rules of engagement to empower UNMIS troops.
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In Depth Reports
Ending Sexual Violence in Darfur: An Advocacy Agenda
12/03/2007

Sexual violence defines the conflict in Darfur, but international efforts to prevent and respond to the issue have been insufficient. While this report critiques the international response, the primary obstacles to preventing rape and assisting survivors are the perpetrators and the Sudanese government officials who actively block the work of international agencies.

Laws Without Justice: An Assessment of Sudanese Laws Affecting Survivors of Rape
06/27/2007
Mass rape, often perpetrated by members of the Sudanese armed forces and affiliated militias, is endemic in the Darfur region of Sudan. Government officials deny that rape is an integral part of violence in Darfur and assert that Sudan aggressively punishes rape. In fact, rape victims suffer from an almost complete lack of access to justice, and the Government is more likely to take action against those who report and document rape than those who commit it.
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Congressional Testimony
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Successes
In 2008, after the U.S. Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) threatened to withdraw from south Sudan, Refugees International called on the agency to continue its work and argued that humanitarian funding levels were still needed to respond to ongoing emergency needs. As a result, OFDA reversed course and developed a three-year plan to provide assistance in the region.