For the past two years, the government of Sudan and its allied nomadic militia, the Janjaweed, has carried out a rampage across the vast, arid terrain of the Western Sudanese region of Darfur, resulting in a widely documented catastrophe of massive displacement, killing of civilians, torture, rape of women and girls, and utter destruction of village communities. Up to 400,000 people have lost their lives since the conflict began, 700-2,000 villages have been destroyed, and more than 2.5 million people have been displaced.
Even though reports of large-scale attacks have decreased — perhaps because there is so little left to destroy — the security situation is deteriorating. Recent reports confirm that the government-sponsored violence continues. The Janjaweed has turned on its former government sponsors and the rebel groups are dividing and fighting amongst themselves, deepening the chaos, escalating the violence and forcing ever greater numbers of villagers to flee to refugee camps.
More than 3.5 million people currently face starvation in the Darfurian diaspora. The humanitarian crisis that has resulted from these widespread human rights abuses shows no sign of abating, as the government of Sudan continues to obstruct aid operations, creating famine conditions for millions of vulnerable people. Only the presence of humanitarian NGOs has prevented additional deaths by starvation and disease and stayed the annihilation of the Darfurian population. These efforts are now themselves targets of looting, robbery, kidnapping and other violence. As a result, in October 2005 the UN pulled all "non-essential staff" out of Sudan.
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Secondary education for women is associated with improved economic prospects, better reproductive health, improved HIV awareness and altered attitudes towards harmful practices such as female genital mutilation/cutting. Their children also benefit: Every year of a mother's education corresponds to 5 to 10 per cent lower mortality rates in children under the age of five.
— UNFPA State of World Population Report 2005 |
Perhaps this should not be a surprise. For years the international community has failed to hold accountable the Sudanese government and to act to protect the populations ensnared in the multiple intertwined conflicts there, chiefly the 20-year old civil war, and the more recent ethnic violence in Darfur. Peripheral debates about whether or not genocide or "ethnic cleansing" is occurring — despite the universal acknowledgement of the perpetration of myriad crimes against humanity and a continuing unfolding of a massive human rights tragedy — have sometimes taken center stage.
Referral of the war crimes and human rights abuses in Darfur to the International Criminal Court on May 31, 2005 was a strong statement of condemnation by UN member states. However, it still awaits to be seen whether this will be accompanied by additional action and support, including for the too few and poorly equipped African Union troops currently charged with peacekeeping and protection in Darfur.
As for the Bush Administration, despite its declaration that genocide was under way in Darfur in 2004, it has been unwilling — as led in UN negotiations by Ambassador John Bolton — to take up the mantle of the responsibility to protect the threatened civilian populations. As of this writing, in October 2005, the ceasefire agreement has failed to hold and the peace process for Darfur is at a standstill. A now sixth round of largely technical talks taking place in Abuja, Nigeria adjourned until November 21, 2005. Meanwhile, impunity reigns and loss, displacement and mortality mount.
There are a few groups seeking to make heard the voices of the Darfurians. Contact the groups listed below to learn more and take action by demanding: protection and humanitarian relief and redress for Darfurians; an active, comprehensive Darfur peace process; and accountability for perpetrators for crimes and violations in Darfur.
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