A coalition of over 120 civil society organisations from across Africa and the Middle East today issued a stark warning about the conflict in Sudan, currently affecting over 4.4m people, calling on the African Union to ‘make history’ by supporting a new, bolder and comprehensive approach to peace.
Dr Albaqir Mukhtar, Director of the Al Khatim Adlan Centre for Enlightenment and Human Development (KACE), said: “The AU has made enormous progress in the past 10 years in finding African solutions to African problems. Yet a solution for instability in Sudan has remained elusive. African leaders must meet this challenge by stepping up and being resolute in efforts to achieve a comprehensive political solution for peace.”
Haggag Nayel, Secretary General of the Arab Coalition for Darfur, said: “This year marks the 10th anniversary of the African Union but also 10 years of devastating conflict in Darfur. Far from ending, the violence in this region is increasing and fuelling further insecurity across the country, with almost 100,000 more people displaced by fighting in the six weeks up to 5th May. The situation is as bad as 2007 when the conflict was thought to be at its height.”
Dismas Nkunda, Co-Chair of the Sudan Consortium, said: “The horrors of Darfur are being replicated in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, with aerial bombardment and ground fighting severely affecting over one million people, of which 700,000 are blocked from receiving international aid. Shockingly, 27,000 people were displaced recently in a single week. The AU must do all it can to halt this terrible crisis and adopt a unified approach to prevent the country’s conflicts from worsening further.”
Full Coalition Statement:
This week our leaders will gather to celebrate 50 years of African unity and we celebrate with them in recognising the significance and success so far of Pan Africanism. However, whilst we mark such progress, the situation in Sudan is deteriorating at an alarming rate. Across the country, 4.4 million people have been affected by the drastic consequences of escalating wars in Darfur, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. Millions are dependent on food aid or living in supposedly ‘temporary’ camps. In recent weeks, the conflict has spread nearer the capital into North Kordofan in the context of an increasing alliance between rebel movements. Furthermore, the recent assassination of the Paramount Chief Kuol Deng, a prominent leader of the Dinka Ngok communities, in the disputed territory of Abyei has reminded us that the fragile peace between Sudan and South Sudan could be shattered so very easily.
We need to tackle the fundamental drivers of the country’s multiple conflicts and acknowledge that the many groups taking up arms against the Government share common grievances that demand a common approach. As a broad coalition of over 120 civil society organisations from across Africa and the Middle East, we call on the AU to use this anniversary not just to mark but to make history by supporting a new, bolder and comprehensive approach to Sudan’s conflicts.
List of signatories:
African Council for Religious Leaders; Africa Democracy Forum; Africa Peace Forum; African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies; African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies; Agency for Independent Media (AIM – South Sudan); Al Khatim Adlan Centre for Enlightenment and Human Development (KACE - Sudan); Arab Coalition for Darfur (ACD - coalition of over 100 Arab civil society organisations); Arab Program for Human Rights Activists (APHRA); Community Empowerment Progress Organization (CEPO – South Sudan); Darfur Bar Association; Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre; Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR); Governance Bureau (Sudan); Hawa Salih (Human Rights Activist – Darfur, Sudan); Human Rights Institute of South Africa (HURISA); Nuba Relief, Rehabilitation and Development Organisation (NRRDO - Southern Kordofan, Sudan); Organisation for Human Rights and Development (ARRY); Pan Africa Lawyers Union (PALU); South Sudan Human Rights Defenders Network (SSHRDN); South Sudan Human Rights Organisation; Strategic Center for Social & Cultural Studies (Blue Nile, Sudan); Sudan Consortium; Sudanese Association for the Defense of Freedom, of Opinion and Conscience (SADFOC); Sudan Democracy First Group (SDFG); Zarga Association for Rural Development.
Crisis Action works behind the scenes to enable our partners to respond jointly to conflict and crises. Crisis Action should not be cited in media reports.
EDITORS NOTES:
Interviews are available with civil society representatives. To organise interviews, please contact Martha Bakwesegha-Osula, bakwesegha-osula@crisisaction.org, Tel: +254 (20) 386 1625 (office); +254 (70) 753 3770 (cell).
Images of the conflict are available for worldwide, external media use, specifically within the context of the civil society press release on the African Union Summit and/or Amnesty International’s work on Southern Kordofan. Photo download link: http://bit.ly/10J3VCd. For editorial use only (no resale, library use, marketing or advertising). Copyright credit is mandatory. Please contact audiovis@amnesty.org with any questions.
Sources for the statistics referenced above can be found on the OCHA Sudan website: http://unocha.org/sudan/