SECURITY OF PEOPLE
HUMANITARIAN NEEDS
AND HUMAN RIGHTS
FOCUS ON
By Dr Barodi
Fashir
In this brief presentation I will try to highlight the
background of the conflict in
Greater
Ecologically there it is made up of a desert and
semi-desert terrain in the north which is prone to drought and sensitive to
fluctuations in rainfall, a fertile Savanna agricultural lands which include
The population of
Historical pattern of the Conflict:
Historically there have been intermittent bouts of
conflicts for centuries, mainly between the pastoralists and the agriculturalist.
Such bouts were not necessarily built on ethnic lines but were rather on lines
of profession. You have equally African tribes may easily be classified as
nomads or camel and cattle herders such as the Zagawa
and the Meidoab. Usually
the conflicts were easily resolved through negotiation between tribal leaders from
both sides of a conflict and concluded with compensation for loss of life or property,
shaking hands and resuming a new life of fraternity. This was the way of life
of the people of
What Has Gone Wrong?!
Since the 1980s, clashes between mainly African
agriculturalists and predominantly Arab pastoralists have become bloodier for
the following reasons:
1-The government ripped the tribal leaders of their
powers and left them helpless in conflict resolution without putting in their
place a more efficient mechanism.
2-The introduction and wide use of automatic weapons
caused more casualties when clashes erupt.
3-Progresive desertification and shortage of rainfall
compelled the nomads to emigrate in search of water and new pastoral lands.
4-There are contentious political issues too. For example,
in 1986, a number of Arab tribes formed a body known as Arab Alliance {Al Tagammu Alarabi}.The
aim of this body has been to achieve political dominance and the control of the
region by the Arab ethnicity. Their alliance got full financial and political
support from the government in
5-In the 1990s, the National Government allocated land
historically owned by an African tribe called Masaleet
to Arab tribes recently migrated to the area from
6-The Government again started the promotion of the
sentiment of pan-Arabism and Arab-Islamism disregarding the majority black
Africans who are equally Muslims .This caused a lot of resentment among the African
ethnicities in
In February 2003 two rebel groups namely Justice &
Equality Movement and Sudan Liberation Army took arms against the government. They
succeeded in achieving swift military gains in the initial rounds of the armed
conflict.
The Response of the Government:
1-
Inflaming ethnic conflict
.The Government recruited Arabs from within and abroad to use them as its
proxies in the conflict .These are the Janjaweed who
have become internationally known for their atrocities and war crimes. In a
well coordinated campaign, the Janjaweed who are
armed, trained and supported by the Khartoum Government managed in collaboration
with Government troops and the coverage of its air force to wipe out the communities
of African ethnicities one by one. s
2-
Mass murdering civilians of
African origin based on direct orders from the highest military command of the
country.
3-
Aerial indiscriminate
bombardment of civilian Africans, their villages and farm land.
4-
Deliberate destruction of
homes and water sources and civilian property.
5-
Systematic gang raping to break
the morale and spirit of the people.
6-
Obstructing international
humanitarian access to internally displaced persons (IDPs)
resulting in the death of hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians.
7-
Destruction of IDP camps (concentration
camps) to eliminate the need for international presence in
8-
Continuous harassment, arrest
and detention of humanitarian workers especially those who are of Sudanese nationality.
9-
Obstruction and delay of the entry
of international relief such as food, medicine, shelter...etc.
10- A state
of insecurity deliberately created and sustained by the Government and its militia proxies to render
impossible the production or delivery of food in almost all parts of Darfur
which could have resulted in mass starvations if not for the international
humanitarian intervention.
11-The new visa policy and the recent
humanitarian and volunteer work policy are nothing but means to obstruct the humanitarian
access to the victims of the Government
and its militias.
12- Deliberately
prolonging the conflict so that the international community, the media and the
donors get fatigued and move elsewhere and leave them to accomplish their
mission.
In addition, there have been other
practical reasons that have made the humanitarian crisis worse such as lack of
paved roads .There is not a single paved road in a region the size of
This situation resulted in a sharp rise in the
mortality and morbidity rates in the region. The morbidity statistics from WHO &
Darfur humanitarian profile (DHP) shows:
Morbidity:
Up to May 2005 at 2.73 million affected, up
to July 2005 at 3.20 million affected, up to August 2005 at 3.5 million
affected, and up to 4 million affected if inaccessible rural areas are included.
Mortality Statistics of WHO & DHP:
The crude mortality rate CMR {number of deaths in
10000 per a day} in
“If we get relief in (into
From the statistics given I can not see signs of enough
relief getting in. Then what is to be done about
From the point of view of the Justice & Equality
Movement (JEM), the above question should be addressed in three stages:
1- Urgent and immediate needs.
2- Post conflict re-integration and rehabilitation
needs.
3- Recovery and sustained development requirements.
Urgent & immediate needs:
·
Stop the genocide.
·
Stop organized gang raping and sexual harassment.
·
Protect the civilians.
·
Immediate and effective humanitarian intervention.
How to achieve this?
·
The international community should force the government of
·
The regime in
·
The regime should be pressed to disarm the Janjaweed
immediately and dismantle their institution.
·
Looted livestock should be returned to owners without any delay, or
owners be adequately compensated when restitution is not possible. .
·
Restitution of the property.
·
Free movement of persons and goods shall be restored immediately.
Urgently needed to restore peace:
·
Replacement of African Union Mission In Sudan
(AMIS) with the United Nations Mission In Sudan (UNMIS) with a broad mandate
and a robust force to protect civilians and enforce peace.
·
The pressure of the international community is needed to force the
government of
·
To facilitate voluntary return of displaced people to their original
villages.
·
Victims of the conflict shall be adequately and promptly compensated
for loss of life and property in addition to social and psychological suffering
into which they have been subjected by deliberate acts of the regime in
·
Perpetrators who are accused of committing genocide, war crimes, and
crimes against humanity should be brought to justice in accordance with
relevant UNSC resolutions.
What is expected from
The role played by Canada in the humanitarian and
peace keeping efforts in Darfur are recognized and highly appreciated by the
people of Sudan and the international community at large. It is expected to
continue its contribution or even increase it to safe civilian life in that
part of the world.
Long term requirement for lasting peace and security:
·
Democratization.
·
Reconciliation.
·
Reconstruction & Human development.;