Working together to Save Darfur by Desmond Tutu & Jody Williams 1:07pm 23rd Jun, 2007 June 28, 2007 Violence escalating in Darfur. (Reuters) The United Nations says murder, rape and abductions are on the rise in West Darfur state, driving more people into camps in the lawless Sudanese region. UN spokeswoman Radhia Achouri has detailed reports of tribal killings, and militia and aerial attacks on villages. "Of particular concern is the recent upsurge in car-jacking, killings, abductions and rape in the area of Zalingei (West Darfur state)," she said. International experts estimate 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been driven into miserable camps during more than four years of violence in the region bordering Chad. Ms Achouri says masked men have shot dead a tribal leader in the Khamsa Daqaa"iq camp in West Darfur. She also says 200 Arab militiamen on horseback attacked on June 24 near Jabel Moon, a mountainous area in West Darfur, but there have been no immediate reports of any casualties. Reports of aerial bombardment and militia activity in South Darfur have also caused thousands of people to flee their homes for the relative safety of camps. "Al Salam camp (South Darfur), which had a population of 13,300 in March, now houses 28,000 IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons), with reports of 5,000 still on their way," Ms Achouri told reporters. The rise in violence comes two weeks after the Sudanese Government agreed to the deployment of a UN-AU joint force of thousands of troops to replace the African Union (AU) force that has proved ineffective. The United States calls the rape, murder and looting in Darfur genocide, a term European governments are reluctant to use and the Sudanese Government rejects. June 21, 2007 Working together to Save Darfur, by Desmond Tutu & Jody Williams. (CS Monitor) Earlier this month, we participated in a discussion on Darfur in the European Parliament, having been invited to offer suggestions of concrete actions that the European Council and European Union could take to alleviate the misery endured by the people of Darfur. We very much appreciated the passionate concern expressed in the room and believe that that passion can and must result in stronger action to end the conflict. We hope the discussion and thoughtful suggestions by many there will influence the EU to take decisive action to protect Darfurians and bring the government in Khartoum back to the negotiating table. Along with many parliamentarians, we are dismayed that despite much rhetorical concern in many world capitals, little has been done to end the conflict, now in its fifth year. Hundreds of thousands are dead, hundreds of thousands are in refugee camps in Chad, and millions are displaced inside Darfur. Rape, endured by countless thousands of women, continues to be used as a weapon of war. Thousands of villages have been razed, crops and livestock have been stolen or destroyed, and water has been polluted in a scorched-earth policy of ethnic cleansing carried out by Khartoum and its allied janjaweed militia. Splintered and splintering rebel groups are no saints either when it comes to human rights, but the overwhelming responsibility for the war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur rests with the government. While our suggestions were made to the EU, other governments and international bodies must come together in coordinated action to stop the carnage. Sudan should be treated like apartheid South Africa and be isolated politically and economically. Those clinging to power in Khartoum must feel real consequences for what they are doing to Darfur. Every time Khartoum hears hollow threats, its belief in its impunity is bolstered. It is time to stop accepting Sudan’s promises and excuses and hold that government accountable for its actions and its inaction. Khartoum’s counterinsurgency war rages on, and the entire region is increasingly drawn into the conflict. No one believes that a military solution is possible; renewed negotiations that meet the needs and aspirations of all Darfurians are the only answer. It is time for the international community to try a carrot-and-stick approach to resolve the crisis. Some of us believe that there has been too much carrot and not nearly enough stick. It is time to make demands of Khartoum with deadlines for action; officials must suffer meaningful consequences if they do not respond. Cease-fire and humanitarian-access agreements made in 2004 must be honored. United Nations forces must be allowed unimpeded access to the region. Khartoum must fulfill its obligation to disarm its janjaweed militia, including those who have merely changed uniform to become part of its “border intelligence,” “defense forces,” or “police.” Khartoum’s window of opportunity to respond must be weeks, not months. Any further stonewalling must result in targeted sanctions, politically and economically isolating those in power. Governments, corporations, and others investing in businesses in the Sudan should also divest their holdings. Until the UN “hybrid force” is fully deployed, it is imperative that African Union forces be given the equipment and other resources they need to carry out their mission. And their mandate should clearly include the ability to defend Darfurian civilians. They accepted a thankless mission with insufficient support, and it is the people of Darfur who are suffering for it. The international community, including civil society, must increase pressure on China to take forceful action to bring Khartoum back to the negotiating table – or risk the further tarnishing of the upcoming Beijing Olympics. China has demonstrated that it can be sensible on climate change; it must show real leadership when it comes to Khartoum and Darfur. There will be no peace in Darfur until Khartoum opens the Darfur Peace Agreement to new negotiations. There will be no peace until fractured rebels unite around a common position. Negotiations must include representatives of the people of Darfur – especially women, who suffer the most in war and gain the least in “peace.” There will be no peace in Darfur until the historic marginalization of its people ends and they receive their share of political representation and economic resources. There will be no peace until victims of the counterinsurgency are compensated – particularly the women of Darfur. We heard European parliamentarians express their frustration that dozens of statements of concern expressed in the EU and European Council have not been followed by meaningful action. The EU can and must play a leadership role in bringing this war to an end. Despite our collective outrage, frustration, and sometimes despair, we cannot give up on Darfur. Its people are counting on all of us. * Desmond Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his work against apartheid South Africa and Jody Williams received the prize in 1997 for her work to ban antipersonnel landmines. Ms. Williams headed a UN high-level mission to Darfur in February and March of 2007. |
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