Since February 2003, Sudan's western province of Darfur has been the site of an extremely violent conflict between the province's nomadic Arab tribes, supported by the government in Khartoum, and the native African settled peasant tribes. Fighting among various factions has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced more than 2 million. Attacks on civilians have been brutal and includes burning homes, killings and rapes. The Darfur crisis is a part of what the political observers call 'the ethnic conflicts'. As the world is witnessing a new genocide, the international stage is envisaging all the solutions that could put an end to the slaughter. By looking into the Darfur case, we can realize how inextricable the situation is, or seems to be. What are the real issues of this conflict? What is in stake in Sudan's new crisis? I decided to investigate the Darfur case while I was visiting the International Crisis Group website. In their page devoted to the Darfur crisis, I was particularly interested by the rubric 'What You Can Do'. Among the different actions suggested, I read 'Inform yourself about the crisis'. I chose to make this current conflict the subject of my paper, which is the best way to know more about what the United States consider a 'genocide'.
[...] It seems to be the case for both the Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement and the Darfur Peace Agreement. In August 2006, the resolution was passed despite the Sudanese government insisting that UN troops would not be allowed to enter in Darfur. The same weakness appears in July 2007, in that the government insists that the force must be made up of African Union troops. We can also question the competence of the UN in an ethic conflict resolution. When minorities issues lead to internal conflict (civil war or genocide), the UN itself may fail to intervene, limited by its own governmental structure. [...]
[...] The second method used was the Darfur Peace Agreement in 2006. The weakness here was the failure of key players in the conflict. To lead efficiently a conflict resolution method, we have to consider the assumption that all parties of the conflict share a common value framework with which differences can be negotiated. This was certainly not the case concerning the different peace agreements in Darfur as such only the Sudanese government and the main faction of the SLA signed it. [...]
[...] The accord had no real value. Moreover, the security and human rights situation in Darfur has deteriorated since Sudan's government and one of three rebel factions signed the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) on 5 May 2006. August 2006 UN Security Council Resolution 1706, passed on 31 August 2006, extended to Darfur the mandate of the UN mission in Sudan (UNMIS), which currently has 10,000 in-country personnel monitoring the North-South Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The resolution "invited" Khartoum's consent to the deployment of 20,600 UN peacekeepers to the region – a consent which Khartoum refused to give. [...]
[...] Global Vision - Historical background The capital of the Republic of Sudan is Khartoum. The President is Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir since June 1989. In Sudan, there are 37 million of inhabitants. Life expectancy is 57 years. Sudan is divided by religions Muslim Animist Christian), ethnicity (African and Arab), tribes and economic activity (nomadic and sedentary). Sudan has been in near constant conflict since 1956 (when it became independent). Since 1958, when General Abboud seized Khartoum, Arab dominated governments succeeded each other. [...]
[...] - Phases The conflict erupted in 2003 when two rebel movements – SLA and JEM – rebelled against the State on ground of institutionalised discrimination by the Arab controlled government toward African tribes – Fur, Zaghawa and Massaleit - As an answer, the government launched an air attack on the Marrah mountains. Until the summer of 2003, the African rebels remained victorious. After several defeats, the government chose to adopt a new strategy and decided to use the Janjaweed to fight against the rebels. [...]
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