DARFUR: BACKGROUND

The crisis in Sudan’s western province of Darfur began in early 2003 when rebel groups in Darfur began to attack Sudanese government targets, claiming that the region is neglected by the government in Sudan's capital, Khartoum. In response to the attacks, the Sudanese government mounted a campaign that has killed hundreds of thousands of Darfurians, caused millions to flee their homes, and wrought untold devastation. In addition to sponsoring horseback attacks by nomadic Arab militias known as the janjaweed, the Government of Sudan has launched aerial bombardment campaigns and helicopter gunship attacks against the people of Darfur.

Using weapons supplied by the Sudanese government, the janjaweed routinely raid villages, burn houses and attack innocent civilians. In turn, the major Darfur rebel groups – the Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) – have attacked government military targets and janjaweed tribesmen. Over the course of the last three and a half years, it is estimated that a campaign of ethnic cleansing has killed over 400,000 people in Darfur and displaced nearly 2.5 million. As many as 500 people continue to die each day.

These horrendous acts have destabilized and depopulated a region as large as Texas, with survivors fleeing to other parts of Sudan or neighboring Chad. More than 200,000 Sudanese refugees have been registered in neighboring Chad and more than 2 million people are internally displaced in Sudan itself. The situation in recent months has spread increasingly to eastern Chad, where the Chadian government has declared a state of emergency and hundreds of thousands of Chadians are forced to flee their homes in fear of janjaweed attacks. The Government of Sudan accuses the Chadian government of backing Darfur rebels, while the Chadian government accuses Khartoum of the spread of genocide into Chad. Approximately 90,000 Chadians have been forced to flee their homes in 2006 due to cross-border raids by the janjaweed.

In September 2004, the United States conducted an independent investigation and declared the events in Darfur genocide. In addition, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry, appointed by the UN Secretary General to investigate the crisis in Darfur reported in January 2005 that the Sudanese Government and the janjaweed militias were responsible for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.

THE DARFUR PEACE AGREEMENT

The Government of Sudan and a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army led by Minni Minnawi signed the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) in May 5, 2006. The United States played a significant role of brokering the peace agreement. Thoughit is a significant step towards ending the crisis in Darfur, the DPA does not address many grievances of Darfuri civilian population, is not inclusive of all rebel factions, and has thus far failed to bring peace to the troubled region. Both the Government of Sudan and the rebel groups have failed to live up to their respective commitments to disarm the janjaweed and uphold a ceasefire. The remaining rebel groups have recently mobilized under the umbrella of the National Redemption Front and continue to fight the janjaweed.

In order for sustainable peace to come to Darfur, an renewed and inclusive peace process must begin again. A revitalized peace agreement should address the unheard grievances of the civilians in Darfur -- especially those living in the refugee camps -- and should include all rebel factions currently fighting in Darfur.

Note: The conflict in Darfur should not be confused with the civil war that has been fought between North and South Sudan for over two decades. In January 2005, representatives from the Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) signed an agreement to end the 21-year old civil war. A UN peacekeeping force has been established to maintain the ceasefire.

African Union Mission

Currently, the African Union (AU) has about 7,700 personnel deployed in Darfur to oversee the ceasefire and protect the monitoring force on the ground. The mandate of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) does not extend to the protection of civilians whose lives are in constant danger; AU troops can only protect civilians from imminent threats during accidental "encounters.” In mid-November 2006, the African Union, the Sudanese Government, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and members of the UN Security Council agreed to a hybrid AU-UN force to replace and strengthen the weak AU force on the ground.

UN Peacekeeping Situation

In order to address the crisis in Darfur, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1706 in August 2006 calling for the deployment of United Nations (UN) peacekeepers in Darfur to replace the under-resourced and under-funded current AU mission on the ground. Since the Security Council passed Resolution 1706, the Sudanese government has not allowed a UN peacekeeping force into Darfur because it says that UN peacekeepers would violate Sudan's sovereignty and spark another jihad. UN peacekeepers are already on the ground in southern Sudan to help implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement which helped to end the North-South civil war, thus disproving Sudan's sovereignty argument. A UN force could bring peacekeeping totals up to 20,000 personnel on the ground in Darfur and provide adequate protection for the people of Darfur for the first time in three and a half years.

Updated November 28, 2006