March 2012 – The Sudanese Government is engaged in a full-scale military assault on the people of the Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and Blue Nile. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are at risk. To address these and other grave concerns, Congressman James McGovern (D-MA) and Frank Wolf (R-VA) have introduced HR 4169, The Sudan Peace, Security and Accountability Act of 2012.

Download the one-page summary and the full bill.

Urge Your Representative to Co-Sponsor HR 4169. Click here to take action >>

The United Nations said Wednesday that the Sudanese government is “severely” restricting movements by peacekeepers in Darfur where fresh clashes have broken out and peace talks are deadlocked.

The Khartoum authorities are also holding up hundreds of visa applications for military, police and civilian personnel for the UN mission in Darfur, UNAMID, peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told a UN Security Council meeting on the Sudanese region where there has been conflict since 2003.

Clashes between government forces and rebel groups have increased in various parts of Darfur since December.

“The marked increase in maneuvers and clashes between government and movement forces in recent weeks was accompanied by a sharp increase in restrictions of movement imposed on UNAMID by government authorities,” Ladsous told UN ambassadors.

This included restrictions on flights and patrols in areas where clashes were reported, the peacekeeping chief added.

“The denials of access have severely impeded UNAMID’s ability to implement its mandate and resupply team sites in affected areas,” Ladsous said, adding that repeated demands had been made to the Khartoum government to get promised “unhindered” access throughout Darfur.

“Still, in spite of this dedicated activism, the Obama administration seems blind and deaf to the ongoing genocide in Sudan. In Mohamed’s words, “It is morally wrong to keep millions of Darfuris in the IDP camps for almost a decade, Nuba Mountain people trapped in the caves, Blue Nile people refugees in another country (Ethiopia) away from their homes. We see clearly this administration has made its choice. Yet history is taking notice.”

Visibly frustrated by the lack of tangible U.S. action as human rights crimes unfold in Sudan, Congressman Wolf noted that part of the challenge of mobilizing the political will for the U.S. government to act is that the atrocities unfolding in Sudan are largely taking place without any media spotlight. Wolf said he would send all of the panelists’ testimonies to the main media networks, including ABC, FOX, NBC, and CNN, to stir up some needed media attention.

The simple answer to the question, “How many internally displaced persons are there in Darfur?” is easy: we don’t know, and we don’t know the margin of error for various figures that have been promulgated by the UN in the past. But we are not without data, and the data raise troubling questions about the integrity of the current UN estimate of 1.9 million IDPs, very quietly first published in July 2010. When precisely this consequential revision—down from a previous UN figure of 2.7 million IDPs—took place is unclear, as is the decision-making process itself. As recently as May 2010, a report from the UN General Assembly’s Economic and Social Council, presumably using UN data, declared that “more than 2 million people remain displaced.”

The history of the new UN figure provides context that is at once suggestive and disturbing. The three statistical snapshots below all come from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA); none includes the more than 250,000 Darfuri refugees currently in eastern Chad, according to the UN High Commission for Refugees.

Read the full article in Dissent Magazine.

Following the peaceful referendum in South Sudan last month, we’re going to have to fight harder than ever to keep Sudan in the spotlight. Right now, Darfur is at a critical juncture. With one failed peace process coming to an end, and violence on the rise, the international community is on the wrong path yet again to bring real, lasting peace to the Darfuris, who have already endured so much.

Help us ask President Obama to follow the Roadmap for Peace in Darfur, as laid out by Sudan Now partner organizations, led by the Enough Project. Sign below and tell your friends — Darfur needs you!

Click here to sign the petition.

“There are going to be a lot of things that are keeping us from focusing on Darfur,” [Gration said.] “That’s why we have this little window where we really need to get the framework solidified.”

“…I think we are going to see a real big focus on the election,” Gration said. “There is not going to be a lot of bandwidth to be doing Darfur and negotiations.”

Read the full Washington Post article here.

The LRA had recently sought refuge in Western Sudan, alarming human rights watchdogs that have long documented the group’s penchant for murder, child slavery, and mass rape.

***
Here’s one thing that struck me about this development. And it’s a part of the story that underlines what genocide has done to Western Sudan. According to Reuters, the LRA left Darfur because of the drastic food shortage there.

Not even brazen rebels — who steal and take whatever they want — can find daily sustenance in Darfur.

“But [the] biggest job was to organize the mail into about 70 subject folders — an ever-changing list of categories that offers a barometer of the nation’s priorities. About half of the letters in February focused on health-care reform; about half last November focused on the war in Afghanistan. Six to 10 percent of all letters amount to fan mail for Obama, offering him support. Other regular categories include Global Warming, Faith and Politics, Gas Prices, Fort Hood, Death Penalty, Darfur, H1N1, Iran, Jobs, First Lady, Torture, From Inmates, POTUS Health and Single Parents.“

Darfur is on that list. Let’s hope the Sudan movement can continue flooding the White House with its appeals.

“March 4, 2010 — One year ago Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, on charges of crimes against humanity. Now, on the first anniversary of the arrest warrant, fighting is raging in Darfur – the war-torn Sudanese province that is the source of much of the case against Mr. Bashir.”

“…On Wednesday, the US State Department issued a statement saying it is “extremely concerned” about reports of new government offensives against rebels in Darfur. According to United Nations officials, the result has been a new spike in civilian deaths.”

Reuters, March 4, 2010 — “We know that weapons continue to flow into Darfur, acts of sexual and gender-based violence continue unabated and with impunity, military over-flights and offensive actions continue,” U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice told reporters after a closed-door meeting of the U.N. Security Council.”

“A 2005 U.N. embargo bans the transfer of military hardware to Darfur, a remote region in western Sudan about the size of France. Khartoum can import arms, but not for use in Darfur.”

“The blatant disregard of the will of the council is undermining stability rather than fostering it, which was the aim of the [sanctions] regime in the first place,” Rice said.”

His words:

“It is asking Africa to sign a suicide pact, an incineration pact in order to maintain the economic dependence of a few countries…It is a solution based on values that funneled six million people in Europe into furnaces.”

This coming from an official whose government is responsible for perpetrating genocide against its own citizens.

Here’s the video:

“Obama’s approach to Sudan has been hobbled from the beginning by deep divisions between senior officials — especially [Scott] Gration, the special envoy, and [Susan] Rice, the U.N. ambassador — on how best to handle Khartoum, sources said. Gration is said to be big on carrots, while Rice prefers sticks. [Deputy Secretary of State Jim] Steinberg is also said to lean towards a harder line, which the advocacy community also favors.”

“In 2006, Rice coauthored an article saying, “History demonstrates that there is one language Khartoum understands: the credible threat or use of force.’”

“ABC News reported that Rice was “furious” in June when Gration said that Darfur was experiencing only the “remnants of genocide.” The State Department quickly confirmed that its official position is that genocide is ongoing.”

Our thoughts: How is someone like Gration still controlling the Sudan portfolio? And why can’t the Obama administration execute a strong and coordinated Sudan policy?

Among other things, President Obama has promised to impose consequences (targeted multilateral sanctions, etc.) if the Sudanese government fails to improve conditions on the ground in both Darfur and Southern Sudan.

Well — those measurable improvements have not been seen. So what is President Obama waiting for now?

“In front of amped up students smeared with blue and gray paint, a sold-out arena, and President Obama and his entourage, students and alumni from Georgetown and Duke universities kicked off their partnership today with the Darfur Dream Team.”

“It was one of the most highly anticipated college basketball games of the season, made all the more exciting with the VIPs in the audience. But about 12 minutes into the game, all eyes turned toward the NBA’s Tracy McGrady, who flew in from Houston to lend his star-power to the launch of the joint project. McGrady, who co-founded the Darfur Dream Team with Enough’s John Prendergast after a trip together to Darfuri refugee camps in 2007, helped direct attention up to the Jumbotron, and here’s what they saw…”

We first called for such action a few years ago. Now, in 2010, the Sudan movement’s bullhorn is still very much on — and we don’t think it’s worse for wear. Omar al-Bashir continues to kill Darfuris. He has decimated the medical support system for Sudanese rape victims. And he is rigging the upcoming national elections in Sudan in his favor. The voices of many Sudan activists might be tired, but we can’t stop now. Not while there is an urgent need to organize and speak out for the rights and dignity of millions of Sudanese citizens.

Pushing the U.S. government to “impose severe consequences” on the Sudanese government might appear too technocratic to some — why are activists demanding that the Obama administration take the narrow action of imposing asset freezes and travel bans against Sudan’s dictators, anyway? The answer, as Enough pointed out recently, has to do with practical precedent:

“These consequences [e.g., multilateral sanctions] that allegedly reside in the Obama administration’s confidential annex to its policy are the only instruments that can prevent an all-out national war in Sudan. Consequences, or the meaningful threat thereof, have altered the calculations and behavior of [Bashir's National Congress Party] in the past. They led to the expulsion of Osama bin Laden, the end to slave raiding and aerial bombing in the South, the acceleration of intelligence cooperation after 9/11, and the CPA itself.”

History is revealing here: we know that there is a policy strategy that has been effective in stopping impunity in Sudan on multiple occasions.

The primary issue at hand isn’t whether or not the Obama administration will heed the lessons of history, given the promises contained in its heavily (self-)advertised Sudan policy document. Rather, the issue is us: Will we (the OurPledge team included) step up and give our elected officials holy hell for not doing enough for the people of Sudan? We have great hope for a new year of intense activism, but ultimately, the extent and effectiveness of the Sudan movement’s work in 2010 aren’t guaranteed. The book hasn’t been written yet.

This inaugural new year’s post comes late, but we have to say: thank you for sticking with us. We look forward to working with you this year on behalf of the people of Sudan.

“Few prospects for Africa are more alarming than a renewed civil war throughout Sudan. Not only would such a scenario have devastating humanitarian consequences throughout the country, but it would also likely spill over and destabilize the neighboring countries and wider region. For these reasons, I believe that the Obama administration has been right to focus on getting the CPA back on track. But in order to be both effective and credible, our diplomatic engagement must be coupled with meaningful leverage. The administration and our international partners must demonstrate a readiness to hold the parties, especially Khartoum, accountable for any foot-dragging that occurs on core commitments.”

As we begin a new decade — hopefully one that brings peace, security and growth to Sudan — the SF Bay Area Darfur Coalition (SFBADC) would like to thank you for your past participation, activism and support and urge you to remain committed in the upcoming crucial year for Sudan. We also want to highlight a few of our 2009 activities, emphasizing awareness, education and advocacy.

Our awareness events — always free and open to the public — included talks by Omer Ismail of Enough, a panel discussion with Adeeb Yousif, a Darfuri human rights activist in Darfur and in the U.S., a screening of The Reckoning, (a film following the work of ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo), Exhibit Darfur at the San Francisco State University downtown campus, and a San Francisco Civic Center rally organized by our summer interns. We obtained thousands of anti-genocide pledges in the the Genocide Intervention Network’s Pledge2Protect campaign.

We made numerous presentations to middle and high school students, colleges, civic organizations, and faith-based groups, including at Aragon High School in San Mateo, Larkspur Library in Marin County, Las Positas College in Livermore, Kipp King Collegiate Prep High School in San Lorenzo, Mercy High School in San Francisco, the Board of Directors of the SF Chapter of the Red Cross, University of San Francisco, and many more. Our President, Mohamed Suleiman, spoke at several venues in Redding in collaboration with our dedicated friends of Genocide No More – Save Darfur.

SFBADC leadership continued to build our relationship with members of Congress. In addition to writing letters throughout the year, we met with aides to Senators Feinstein and Boxer, Speaker Pelosi and Bay Area Representatives Eshoo, Honda, Lee, Lofgren, Miller, Speier, Stark, and Woolsey both in the local and Capitol Hill offices. We also met with staff in the office of the US Special Envoy to Sudan, General Scott Gration.

Senator Feinstein, a leader in the Senate on issues of genocide and mass atrocities, signed on to a Senators’ letter to UN Ambassador Susan Rice regarding enforcement of the Darfur arms embargo and co-sponsored bills requiring disclosure by US importers of Congo minerals (S.891) and developing a strategy for ending terror in Sudan, Congo and Central African Republic by the Lord’s Resistance Army (S.1067). Senator Boxer, a longstanding advocate for Sudan on the Hill, co-chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women’s Issues hearing on “Confronting Rape and Other Forms of Violence against Women in Conflict Zones Spotlight: DRC and Sudan.”

Speaker Pelosi continued her commitment to the people of Sudan in highlighting Darfuri refugees in Chad and internally displaced persons in Sudan in her statement on World Refugee Day on June 20. Congresswoman Eshoo signed a Congressional letter to President Obama asking him to raise the issue of Sudan on his visit with President Hu of China. Congresswomen Lee and Woolsey, members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and early pioneers in advocating for Sudan, questioned the US Special Envoy to Sudan during his tetimony before the House Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health. Congresswoman Woolsey was one of only two members of Congress who spoke at a Darfuri rally at the White House in July 2009.

We pledge to you that we will continue our work in 2010 and ask that you participate whenever possible, including taking the weekly Darfur Friday actions. If you have suggestions of any kind for us or would like to volunteer, please email us at info [at] darfursf.org.

Again, thank you for all you do.

SF Bay Area Darfur Coalition
www.darfursf.org

“Obama administration officials and international diplomats often argue that all available pressures aimed at the regime — including sanctions, embargoes and diplomatic isolation — have failed, so it’s time to use carrots rather than sticks. [Scott] Gration, the [Sudan] presidential envoy, told The Washington Post that “kids, countries — they react to gold stars, smiley faces, handshakes, agreements, talk.” Yet, in the 20 years since the regime in Khartoum came to power, it has compromised only in response to the threat or application of meaningful pressure from abroad, such as when it expelled Osama bin Laden from the sanctuary it was providing, stopped supporting slave-raiding militias in the south and struck a peace deal with southern rebels. There are plenty more pressure tactics that could be deployed through the Security Council or other coalitions, such as tightening the asset freezes on the ruling party’s nouveau riche leaders, providing greater support to the International Criminal Court’s cases against Sudanese officials, denying the regime debt relief and expanding the five-year-old U.N. arms embargo.”