Darfur Week of September 26, 2008

African-UN Peacekeepers in Darfur Train Sudanese Forces on Protection

UNAMID conducted a workshop last week on security coordination for senior and mid-level managers focusing on sharing information between UNAMID and the Sudanese government in order to bolster the security of the UN staff and property. The chief of police of the Sudanese Police Force in North Darfur, General Ahmad Atta Al Mannan Othman, said that since peace is the goal in western Sudan, working hand-in-hand will accomplish this. Coordination efforts include developing a better understanding of UN security mechanisms and guidelines for Sudanese police, national security and military intelligence.
Sudanese suspects confess to killing USAID officer

On New Year’s Day, John Granville who worked with USAID and his Sudanese driver Abdel-Rahman were killed in their car just before dawn. Five suspects are standing trial for the assassination. On Wednesday, in a video confession, two of the suspects said they shot at Granville and Rahma with a 9 mm pistol and a Kalashnikov rifle. Abdel Basit al-Hajj said that it took 12 to 15 seconds and that it was with the help of God that they killed the American infidel. Both suspects said that they were planning another attack in February on a US target when they were arrested. Sudanese prosecutor Mohamed AL-Mustafa Musa said that the group came from the town of Atbara and intended to strike Western targets.
275 rabbis urge Secretary Rice to expand Sudan arms embargo

Calling for the voluntary suspension of arms sales to Sudan, rabbis representing thousands of congregants sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice on this pressing matter. Noting that two Security Council resolutions have not affected a change in the movement of weaponry to Darfur, the letter stresses the failure of Member States in living up to their obligations to prevent the supply of arms to parties in conflict. They also point out that China provides an estimated 90% of Sudan’s small arms imports since 2004. In order to negotiate this difference, the letter calls on the Bush administration to honor broken promises and stand firmly against China on the issue of arms sales in order to fulfill its promise to Darfurians.
OIC calls for prudence before trying to arrest Bashir

The Secretary General of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, has called for prudence in proceedings against Bashir. From his perspective, he senses a consensus among different international organizations that the ICC prosecutions should take a back seat to more negotiations and action by the Sudanese government that assure the international community that they are moving in the right direction. In exchange for a gesture of good will from Khartoum towards the ICC, France may also suspend support for international proceedings against Bashir.
ICC Prosecutor to hold talks on Darfur case

Luis Moreno-Ocampo traveled to the UN this week to ask Member States not to suspend the case against Bashir. According to the prosecutor, his appeal to world leaders to protect victims challenges the international community. It runs parallel with calls by civil society and international human rights organizations and puts to the test Member States who in the interest of those who are suffering greatly in Darfur may need to stop stalling on actions that might forever bring to an end the war between the Sudanese government and members of the Darfurian tribes who have been under attack.
From My Perspective
While the ICC seeks the indictment of Bashir, this week shows increased pressure by UNAMID, leaders of the Jewish religious community, and Sudanese security forces to address international concerns involving Darfur. They seek more confidence building measures toward ending the violence. In the meantime, the Sudanese Courts are busily showing that they are still firmly committed to the war against extreme terrorist cells that are still among the top threats to international peace and security.
What is being confronted today is the lack of political will by Member States. This has been brought front and center by the ICC’s move to negotiate the differences between international community norms on human rights and security concerns and Sudanese domestic policies that cannot provide the conditions for peace that are necessary to end the genocide. The government continues its attacks on refugee camps while the region of Darfur still remains a territory in dispute. In the fight over land rights and in the attacks on the three tribes specified in frequent news stories and by the ICC, a campaign continues that does not consider the needs of the victims. They are set off to become casualties of a war where passions run high and the law does not protect the very people it was set out to protect.
Whose interests are being secured when the international community watches its principles and values get worn down by systemic lethargy? It can’t be in the interest of Sudan and its policies to continue to be isolated economically by the US and its allies. Doesn’t defining citizen rights within a border in a country whose laws may not be based on Western law hold a higher priority than where the concerns come from? Sudanese security forces can learn from UNAMID and UN mechanism.
What about enforcing some of the Security Council resolutions so that countries that do not comply with those resolutions are held accountable? If providing arms to rebel groups so that differences can be settled through armed conflict is a preferred practice then why spend time penning mandates, international law and resolutions that document concerns and are supposed to lead to enforceability? The interests of the UN are to protect the world from the scourge of war, from regular people becoming victimized, while protecting the interests of the most powerful nations and developing countries. It’s not a coin toss as to who gets to be treated according to human rights principles. It is morally distasteful to see governance take such lame duck attitudes.
What are the policy priorities in Sudan? From the perspective of the United States, according to the State Department, as of September 11, 2008, US policy toward Darfur includes the rapid deployment of UNAMID, an immediate cease-fire and protection of humanitarian workers and a political settlement for the Darfur crisis. Within Sudan, policies since 9/11 have shown their commitment to fighting terrorism, and yet what about their domestic policies? In a time when Bashir should focus his policy decisions on the economic needs of the Sudanese people, including Darfur in his decisions, Bashir chooses to continue to place more emphasis on pan-Arabic fundamentalism that increases the tensions within the disputed territory and all of Sudan and ignores the interests of the Western part of the country.
Sudan’s domestic policies are aimed at ensuring that certain Arab tribes benefit and maintain their power while those who do not belong to those tribes see their fundamental rights whittle away. What do Sudanese policies instill in its people? How do the government methods – their crackdowns – affect upcoming generations who may want to see a more comprehensive policy that has a dimension that more resembles the interests of the people it should serve? The will of the people is not delivered by being armed to the teeth, and still the arms trade goes on between China and Darfur. Policies that provide for those who are most affected by the conflict should be developed so that their fundamental rights are taken into consideration and that their grievances do not meet with policies that avoid improving opportunities for Darfurians, no matter what tribe they are from.
Although the OIC and other Arab leaders are concerned that the stability and security of Sudan is at risk if the President is indicted, I believe that peace and justice must continue to be pursued in the interest of victims of Sudanese policies that are discriminatory.