History

BASIC INFORMATION

The Republic of Sudan

What is the conflict in Darfur, Sudan all about?

It began early in 2003 after a group of people who didn't agree with the government started attacking government targets. These rebels say people in their area, called Darfur, is being neglected by the government. They also say that Arabs are being treated better by the government than black Africans. For many years there has been some tension between the two groups over land and grazing rights. Also, Sudan as a whole has been at war with itself since 1956, apart from an 11-year period of peace from 1972-1983.

What's their government doing to help?

The government in Sudan organised a horse or camel-mounted Arab emergency army mainly made up of ordinary people to tackle the rebels. This army is called the Janjaweed. The Janjaweed force often carries out attacks on villages and towns taken by rebels. Human rights groups say this army - also know as a militia - sometimes kills and steals from the non-Arab residents of Darfur. The government says it still has control in the Darfur area but rebels deny this and they have been accused of formenting the genocide and ethnic cleansing in Darfur.

What has happened to people living in the area?

About a million have fled their homes and at least 400,000 have been killed. At least 250,000 have gone to neighbouring Chad to find safety, millions more are camped along a 600km stretch of the border and vulnerable to attacks from Sudan. They are also very short of food and shelter, and aid agencies want to get assistance to them but are hindered by the lack of security and the harsh terrain. People have already been found to be suffering from starvation, raped, ethnic cleaning and genocide.

What help are they getting?

The United Nations refugee agency is flying in emergency aid to the border area of Sudan and Chad but is desperately under funded and resourced. The agency is also looking to move the refugees to safety in camps further inland. The UN food agency (WFP) has also begun flying in aid to northern Darfur. Aid workers want to bring in supplies by road but this has been hampered by both the situation and the government in Khartoum. The government says this is safe but some people are worried the roads could be attacked, and to date the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme have effectively pulled out of the region due to the increasingly violent nature of the conflict. Several aid agency workers and UN personnel have been killed or seriously injured since hostilities flared up in 2003.

Aid agencies and human rights organizations on the ground report that rape has become a hallmark of the crimes against humanity in Darfur. It has proven one way for the Janjaweed militias to continue attacking Darfurians after driving them from their homes. Families must continue collecting wood, fetching water or working their fields, and in doing so, women daily put themselves or their children at the risk of rape, beatings or death as soon as they are outside the camps, towns or villages. It is assumed that the hundreds of rapes reported and treated grossly underestimate the actual number committed, as victims of rape in Darfur are often too scared or too ashamed to seek help. In a culture where rape draws heavy social disgrace, victims are often ostracised by their own families and communities. These women and children have been forced from their communities and even punished for illegal pregnancy as a result of being raped.

As need far outstrips the ability of agencies to deliver aid, it is not too soon to sound a famine alert. Relief workers on the ground are convinced that few if any of the over 2.5 million IDPs will return to their homes in time for the next planting season, thus ensuring at least longer term food insecurity. The onset of the rainy season in late May will further restrict access.

Compounding the problem is that the numbers of at-risk civilians continue to increase. The Janjaweed continue to undertake attacks against villages, prey on IDPs, and obstruct aid activities. Many Janjaweed have been integrated into the army and police; no one has been charged with any crime, and their actions are not being challenged. There remains a state of total impunity.

Not since the Rwanda genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of slaughter, rape, starvation and displacement. I The Sudanese government continues to flout international law with impunity.

Is anyone trying to stop the fighting?

Peace talks started up but didn't get off to a good start when some people didn't turn up to the opening ceremony. The Sudanese government, in Khartoum, says that they are trying to disarm the Janjaweed now, but the rebels say this is not true. The UN has said more must be done. This could mean stopping the Janjaweed from traveling and owning weapons, or it could mean they will send in either additional African Union troops, currently there are 7,800, and/or other United Nations peace keepers into Sudan. The idea of also using Nato troops has been mentioned but the ongoing situations in Afghanistan, Iraq and now Lebanon this must be ruled out for the moment.

A humanitarian ceasefire agreement was signed between the Government of Sudan, the SLM and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) on 8 April 2004 and they subsequently signed Security and Humanitarian Protocols on 9 November 2004 in Abuja. However neither side was fully abiding by their commitments to these earlier agreements, and insecurity continued to hamper the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Following on from this a peace deal has been tabled in April of this year in ABUJA, Nigeria. A draft deal to end the three-year conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region was tabled by African Union mediators five days ahead of a 30 April deadline for negotiations to be wrapped up, unfortunately however this deal was not ratified by one of the rebel groups and so the conflict continues.

The 85-page peace agreement has been hammered out in the Nigerian capital Abuja after almost two-years of talks between the Sudanese government and two Darfurian rebel groups with the aid of senior officials from the United States State Department, the British Foreign and Common Wealth Office, the African Union and the United Nations. Unfortunately this agreement has failed to secure peace in the ground even though both the Sudanese government and the larger of the two rebel groups has signed, with the other group agreeing to adhere to the terms of the deal.

Darfur is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, according to the UN which estimates that more than 400,000 have died since fighting began in 2002 and two and a half million others forced to flee their homes. The AU deal proposes a Darfurian take the fourth highest-ranking position in the Presidency with the rank of “senior presidential assistant”, a move meant to defuse a deadlock over rebel demands for a Darfurian to be made Vice President. It also includes compromises to break long-running deadlocks over power sharing, security, and wealth sharing including vast untapped mineral deposits in the region. Restrictions were placed on Major General Gaffar Mohamed Elhassan, Commander of the Western Military Region for the Sudanese Air Force, Adam Yacub Shant, Commander of the SLA rebel group; Gabril Abdul Kareem Badri, the Field Commander of another rebel group, the National Movement for Reform; and Sheikh Musa Hilal, the Paramount Chief of the Jalul ethnic group in North Darfur.

The UN Security Council passed three key Resolutions in March 2005, reflecting the UN’s deep concern and its continued commitment to addressing the situation in Darfur, and in the wider Sudan:

• Resolution 1590, (24 March) mandates the deployment of up to 10,000 military personnel, plus a civilian component, for a UN Peace Support Operation to support the CPA;
• Resolution 1591, (29 March) imposes an arms embargo on all parties in Darfur and a travel ban and assets freeze against individuals (to be designated by a Security Council committee) who continue to violate the commitments they have made to end the conflict; and
• Resolution 1593, (31 March) refers the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC). This will allow the ICC to examine and act on alleged perpetrators of heinous crimes in Darfur, including those identified by the UN International Commission of Inquiry. The ICC began a formal investigation on 6 June. This was the first ever UN Security Council referral to the ICC and marks a historic step in the development of international justice and the fight against impunity for the perpetrators of serious human rights abuses. It is also a major step forward in terms of end the culture of impunity in Darfur.

POLITICS

Since the early 1990s there have been a number of unsuccessful attempts to find a peaceful resolution to the civil war in Sudan. However, in 2002 war-weariness and international pressure finally bought the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) to the negotiating table. The peace talks held under the auspices of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Kenya culminated in the signing of the CPA on 9 January 2005. This agreement covers the key issues of self-determination for the South and state and religion. It establishes a permanent ceasefire and sets out plans for the disengagement of forces. The parties have also agreed on the structure of Government, including arrangements for power and wealth as well as human rights. The agreement also includes protocols covering governance of three conflict areas outside of the historic south - Abyei, the Nuba Mountains (Southern Kordofan) and Blue Nile.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Sudan is a member of the Arab League, the African Union, the Organisation of Islamic Countries, and was a pioneer member of the Non-Aligned Movement. It plays an active role in all of these organisations. Sudan also has an ongoing dialogue with the EU. The EU/Sudan dialogue deals with five areas: peace, relations with neighbours, terrorism, democratisation and human rights.

Sudan Basic Information

• Area: 2,505,813 sq km (967,500 sq mi)
• Population: (2003) 33.61m
• Capital City: Khartoum (City) 2.5 million; Khartoum (State) 7 million (both estimates)
• People: Arab (39%), African (52%), Beja (6%), other (3%)
• Languages: Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
• Religion(s): Islam, Christianity, African Religions
• Currency: Dinar
• Major political parties: National Congress Party, Popular National Congress, Umma Party, Democratic Unionist Party, Communist Party, Sudan People's Liberation Movement
• Government: Presidential Republic
• Head of State: Field Marshal Omer Hassan Ahmed al Bashir
• First Vice-President and President of Southern Sudan: Lt. Gen Salva Kiir Mayardit
• Second Vice President: Ali Osman Mohamed Taha
• Foreign Minister: Dr. Lam Akol
• Membership of international groups/organisations: African Union (AU), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), International Labour Organisation (ILO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Maritime Organisation (IMO), League of Arab States/Arab League (AL), Non Aligned Movement (NAM), Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), United Nations (UN)

GEOGRAPHY

Sudan is the largest country in Africa and is dominated by the Nile and its tributaries. It has borders with Egypt, Libya, Chad, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Eritrea. Sudan has over 800km of coastline along its north eastern border, which provides access to the Red Sea. Sudan has a tropical south and arid desert in the north. It is generally flat with mountains in east and west. HISTORY of Sudan

Sudan entered the Twentieth Century ruled as an Anglo-Egyptian Condominium, a unique constitutional status dating from 1899. After the First World War Sudanese nationalist sentiment grew drawing inspiration from Egyptian nationalism. However, it was only much later, following the 1952 July Revolution in Egypt, that Sudan gained independence. The 1953 Anglo-Egyptian Agreement provided for a three-year transitional period before self-rule.

A new independent Sudan was born on 1 January 1956, but political infighting and economic incompetence soon extinguished popular optimism. In November 1958, Major-General Ibrahim Abboud led the army to power in a bloodless coup, determined to end the short, flawed rule of the politicians. Six years later faced with popular disillusionment, Abboud's regime collapsed and new parliamentary elections were held in 1965. Once more, parliamentary democracy brought weak, unstable governance and, in 1969, Colonel Jaafar Nimeiri seized power.

Meanwhile, southern Sudan was suffering from escalating conflict between the Government forces and rebels. In 1972 Nimeiri signed a peace agreement with the southern rebels (South Sudan Liberation Movement). During the 1970s, the regime's pledges gradually unravelled and by 1983, when Nimeiri proclaimed the application of Islamic law (Shari'a) throughout the country, southern resistance forces were re-mobilising into what became the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M).

Nimeiri was little more popular in the North, but challenges to his rule were met with bloody purges. Widening anger eventually sparked a military take-over in April 1985 and the following year elections were held. Parliamentary rule was to last less than four years, a period in which five governments were formed, each under the premiership of veteran politician Sadiq al-Mahdi. Peace talks with southerners and the poor state of the economy strengthened dissent.

On 30 June 1989, the army overthrew the democratically elected government of Sadiq al-Mahdi and installed a Revolutionary Command Council, chaired by General Omar al-Bashir. Bashir ruled by decree at the head of the Revolutionary Command Council and banned all political parties except his own National Islamic Front (NIF) (renamed the National Congress Party in 1998). In 1996 Bashir was elected President and a National Assembly was elected in a flawed election which was boycotted by the opposition. Bashir was re-elected (with 86% of the vote) in 2000. Again a number of key opposition parties boycotted the election, claiming it was flawed and unfair.

On January 9, 2005, a peace deal was signed to end the long war between the government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLM). This war, which has raged for the past 20 years, is commonly referred to as the North-South conflict and is often confused with the violence in Darfur. This peace deal signed earlier this year did not address the issues in Darfur, where the genocide continues.

Important Note: Significant portions of this document have been provided by the International Crisis Group; the BBC News and World Service; the Foreign and Common Wealth Office of the United Kingdom; the United States State Department; the African Union and the Ageis Trust.