DARFUR

WHERE IS DARFUR?

•Using google maps plot the points on the map.

ABOUT DARFUR

In groups of 3 answer: Who rules Darfur? Who used to rule Darfur? What ethnic groups make up Darfur? What might be some conflicts to come out

of this?

ABOUT THE CRISIS IN DARFUR

Who are the key actors in the crisis? What caused the crisis? How have world leaders responded? What are the important dates and pivot

points? What is genocide? What is the legal definition of genocide

used by the UN?

WHO RULES AND HAS RULED DARFUR? Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR is

the President of Sudan Tijani Sese is the Executive Chairman

of Darfur Until British colonisation in 1916 Darfur

was an independent Sultanate (like a kingdom)

WHAT ETHNIC GROUPS MAKE UP DARFUR? Large mix of different ethnic groups Ethnic Arab peoples largely making up the

government in the capital Khartoum In the western part of the country, where

Darfur is, different African tribes make up the bulk of the population

All groups are Muslim and all speak Arabic

WHAT MIGHT BE SOME CONFLICTS TO COME OUT OF THIS?

Pre-existing disagreements about land Varying claims to supremacy/power Even though all speak Arabic this is not

always the first language Post-colonial disintegration

Law and order Basic services such as healthcare Civil War Famine

WHO ARE THE KEY ACTORS IN THE CRISIS? Sudan – large country in Africa Darfur – province in the west of the country Khartoum – the capital city, also used in

reference to the official government of Sudan (‘Khartoum has lashed out at rebel forces…’)

Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) – largest rebel army

Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) – second largest rebel group

Janjaweed – Arabic militia in Sudan

WHAT CAUSED THE CRISIS

Historical Events: Like most African states, modern day Sudan has

its roots in European imperialism and colonisation (it was a British colony)

Sudan, like many ex-colonies has been made ‘poor’ by colonisation

The area itself has a rich history, that often overlaps with Ancient Egypt and is over 4,000 years old

The state of Sudan as we know it was created in 1956

WHAT CAUSED THE CRISIS

Low Living Standards: But the state has large oil supplies The official Sudanese government in

Khartoum receives the money that comes in from oil – they concentrate this money on resourcing the capital city and areas nearby

The western province of Darfur does not get the investment that Khartoum gets

They live very tough and difficult lives

WHAT CAUSED THE CRISIS

Darfuris had had ENOUGH They formed rebel armies: The Sudanese Libration Army (SLA) The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) These rebel armies began to fight for

independence from the Khartoum government – they wanted their own country that was made up by, and represented, their own people

The government in Khartoum was not going to tolerate any independence movements

WHAT CAUSED THE CRISIS?

Civil War: Sudan vs South Sudan When the rebels attacked the Sudanese

government in Darfur, the Khartoum government was fighting with other rebels in the South of Sudan (which is it’s own country today)

So the government enlisted the ‘Janjaweed’ or the ‘Devils on Horseback’ who are fundamentalists

They saw the African tribes in Darfur as inferior because Arabic was their second language

HOW HAVE WORLD’S LEADERS RESPONDED?

United Nations preventing armed conflict which usually provides the

context for genocide, protection of civilians in armed conflict including a

mandate for UN peacekeepers to protect civilians, ending impunity through judicial action in both national

and international courts, information gathering and early warning through a UN

Special Advisor for Genocide Prevention making recommendations to the UN Security Council on actions to prevent or halt genocide, and

swift and decisive action along a continuum of steps, including military action.

HOW HAVE WORLD’S LEADERS RESPONDED?

United States of America George W Bush

George Bush said in 2009 that “If by January 1st the Sudanese government had stopped the killing of innocent civilians and accepted the development, then the US would implement plan B – a package of economic sanctions against Sudan approved by Bush himself.

He stated that what was happening in Sudan was genocide and that there would be repercussions for Sudan.

HOW HAVE WORLD’S LEADERS RESPONDED?

United States of America Barak Obama

In 2004 when Obama was still a senator he said “Genocide is underway in Darfur, Sudan. Already 50,000 Muslims have been killed and 1.2 million displaced by the Sudanese government militias and encouraged by Khartoum. We cannot in good conscience, stand by and let the genocide continue.”

In 2007 he said “The United States has a moral obligation anytime you see humanitarian catastrophes. When you see a genocide in Rwanda, Bosnia or in Darfur, that is a stain on all of us, that is a stain on our souls”.

Obama made it clear that the administration wanted to stop war in Darfur and implement the comprehensive peace agreement.

HOW HAVE WORLD’S LEADERS RESPONDED?

China China have worked to block many UN

resolutions China has been Sudan’s chief diplomatic

ally China invests heavily in Sudanese oil China supply Sudan’s military with

helicopters, tanks, fighter planes, bombers, rocket launch propelled grenades and machine guns

HOW HAVE WORLD’S LEADERS RESPONDED?

International Criminal Court They have deeply investigated allegations of

war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide

They have started to prosecute Bahr Idriss Abu Garda, a rebel leader

They have issued multiple arrest warrants for some of Sudan’s highest offices of power:

Omar Al-Bashir: President of Sudan Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman: Janjaweed Leader Ahmad Muhammad: Minister of State for the Interior Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein: Minister of

Defence 

HOW HAVE WORLD’S LEADERS RESPONDED?

Non-Governmental Organisations Providing health care in refugee and

displaced persons camps Providing access to food and water Supporting and assisting farmers Supporting and providing schools for

different types of education: Reproductive Health & sanitation General schooling

WHAT ARE THE IMPORTANT DATES? Spring 2003: SLM and JEM attack government military installations 2005 World Summit introduces the R2P:

the international community must step in when genocide, war crimes and ethnic cleansing are occuring

May 2006: UN Inquiry concludes Sudan hasn’t committed genocide but has committed war crimes

April 2006: Sudan rejects UN peacekeeping May 2007: ICC issues an arrest warrant for the Sudanese government

minister and head of the Janjaweed. Sudan refuses to hand them over December 2007: UNAMID enters Darfur March 2009: ICC issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President

Bashir July 2010: ICC issues another arrest warrant for Bashir; this time for

genocide December 2010: Doho Peace Forum talks fail but possiblity of

autonomy for Darfur discussed March 2012: ICC issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese Minister of

Defence

WHAT IS GENOCIDE?

Systematic killing or prevention from procreation of as many people that belong to a particular religion, race, ethnic or language group with a view to terminating the groups future survival .

In Darfur this means killing as many civilians from the Darfur region as possible, in the process, killing the rebels (who are hard to find and identify amongst the civilian population)

As a result, a massive scale of murder, rape and torture ensued Men, women and children were all targets Since 2003, when this conflict largely started, over 400,000

people have been killed Over 2.5 million people have been displaced (ran from their

homes) and are now living in refugee camps

WHAT IS THE LEGAL DEFINITION OF GENOCIDE USED BY THE UN?

...any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members

of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life

calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group