Background
Sudan’s triple conflicts – the South, Darfur (West) and the East – reflect in many ways the multiple religious, ethnic and socio-economic divides in Africa’s biggest country. Divisions between Muslims and Christians, Arab and African, and nomad and farmer have been exacerbated by struggles over natural resources. Also at the heart of Sudan’s three conflicts are resistance to the marginalising political and economic policies of the Islamist ruling party, the National Congress Party (NCP), and a desire for greater political autonomy and share in national wealth.
Southern Sudan
In southern Sudan, the country’s longest war pitted the Muslim north against the Christian and Animist south. It ignited in 1983 after the National Islamic Front (forbearer to the NCP) seized power in Sudan, imposing Shari law throughout the whole country and revoking the autonomy of South Sudan. The regional conflict in the oil-rich south gradually became national as Muslim fighters drew on their support base in the north.
Community organising in South Sudan. Pic: David Hockaday
The war resulted in the death of an estimated 2 million people and displacement of a further 4 million before it formally ended in 2005. The peace agreement incorporated the former rebel group, the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), into a Government of National Unity. However the implementation of the agreement has been hampered by the lack of good faith, and the absence of political will on the part of the ruling NCP and the lack of capacity of the SPLM/A. Deliberate obstruction of the peace agreement by the NCP, disputes over oil revenue sharing, and the demarcation of the north-south border, are putting the hard-fought peace at risk.
Darfur
In the west, the Darfur conflict dates back to the early 1980s, when the new Islamic government began supporting Arab nomads fighting “African” groups in the Darfur area. The struggle for land and political power intensified in 2003. In response to a rebel uprising led by the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) which was demanding increased political representation and access to economic resources. The government-supported Arab Janjaweed militia then initiated an offensive civilian population of African tribes. The attacks by government forces and allied militias led to the deaths of more than 200,000 Darfurians. The under-resourced African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) in 2004 failed to provide effective protection to civilian populations. In 2007 the UN Security Council authorised the deployment of a joint UN-AU mission in Darfur (UNAMID). As of early 2009, UNAMID is not yet fully deployed and, despite a massive humanitarian effort, the security situation in Darfur continues to deteriorate as attacks on civilians continue.
IDP women using a water point in Mornei camp, West Darfur. Pic: Nicki Bennett.
The conflict in the west is closely linked to the environmental degradation in Darfur, which has heightened the competition for scarce resources. According to the United Nations, the most serious concerns are land degradation, the spread of deserts southwards by an average of 100 kilometres over the past four decades, and overgrazing by a livestock population that has “exploded” from close to 27 million animals to around 135 million.
Eastern Sudan
Budur lives in an IDP settlement on the outskirts of Port Sudan. Pic: Nicki Bennett.
The situation in eastern Sudan, often referred to as the forgotten conflict, has its roots in the underdevelopment of the region and the marginalisation of its population. Demands for more power and wealth sharing have led to on-going low-level conflict over the past decade between the central government of Sudan and the Eastern Front rebel group. A peace agreement was signed between the two groups in 2006, however it does not have wide support. The agreement is seen by many as another attempt by the Government to silence its opponents by buying them off and making empty gestures.
Human rights situation
The major escalation of violence in Darfur in 2003 has, according to Human Rights Watch, led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. More than 4 million people are dependent on humanitarian assistance and a staggering 2.2 million people are internally displaced. Another 215,000 have sought refuge in neighbouring Chad. In the whole of Sudan, there are an estimated 6 million internally displaced people: the highest number in the world.
According to Amnesty International, systematic human rights abuses have occurred in Darfur since 2003, including killing, rape, looting and destroying of property by all parties involved in the conflict, but primarily the Sudanese Government and Government-backed Janjaweed militia. The Khartoum Government appears unwilling to address the human rights crisis in the region and has failed to take any steps to rein in the Janjaweed.
Despite the ongoing humanitarian disaster, the Sudanese Government has placed restrictions on access for humanitarian aid agencies. Aid providers are subject to untenable visa restrictions, organizations are limited in what materials they may use, and all aid providers are subject to arbitrary rule making by the Khartoum government.
Despite shaky peace agreements in the south and east, there are still reports of human rights abuses. According to a United Nations report, illegal detention and torture are rampant in southern and eastern Sudan. “Ill-treatment and torture are repeatedly used to intimidate detainees, to punish them, to extract information or to force them to incriminate themselves or others,” the report by the UN High Commission for Human Rights said. “In some cases death threats are made against detainees prior to their release to prevent them from speaking out about the abuses they suffered in detention.”
The International Criminal Court is currently reviewing evidence presented by their Chief Prosecutor that could lead to the indictment of Omar Al-Bashir, the current Sudanese President, on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.
Australia’s relationship with Sudan
In 2007, Australia committed $2.5 million to contribute to the efforts of the Australian’s Federal Police to work alongside the Sudanese Police to restore law and order. The 10 police officers police sent by Australia form part of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).
In 2007 the Australian Government embarked on a project to assist people in Darfur with some $20 million in immediate humanitarian assistance. This brings the Australian Government’s total contribution to Sudan and neighbouring countries to more than $82 million since May 2004.
In recent years the Australian Government has also resettled large numbers of refugees from Sudan through the Offshore Humanitarian Program. Despite the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operation’s (DPKO) open request for assistance in the form of helicopters and other heavy transport, Australia has only committed nine military officers to UNAMID.
Contacts
Diplomatic representation
Australia’s embassy in Egypt (and Sudan)
World Trade Centre (11th Floor), Corniche El Nil
Boulac (Code No. 11111)
Cairo
Egypt
Tel: +202 2575 0444
Fax: +202 2578 1638
E-mail: cairo.austremb@dfat.gov.au
The Embassy of Sudan in Indonesia has responsibility for Australia
Jl. Lembang No. 7 Menteng
Jakarta Pusat 10310 Indonesia
Tel: +62 21 390 8234
Fax: +62 21 390 8235
Email: sudanindo@centrin.net.id
International organisations working in Sudan
UN organisations
- OCHA
http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?alias=ochaonline.un.org/sudan
- OHCHR
United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
Khartoum, Sudan
Tel: +249 187 086 180
Email: vincentm@un.org
United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
El-Fasher, Sudan
Tel: + 249 922 443 877
E-mail: keital@un.org
- UNDP
Gama’a Avenue,House 7,Block 5
PO Box 913
11111
Khartoum, Sudan
Tel: +249 1 83 783 820 and/or (+249) 1 83 773 121
Fax: +249 1 83 783 764 and/or (+249) 1 83 773 128
Email: registry.sd@undp.org
- UNHCR
www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/country?iso=sdn
- UNICEF
PO Box 1358
Khartoum, Sudan
House No. 74
Street No. 47
Khartoum 2, Sudan
Tel: +249 1 83 471 837
International NGOs
- Plan (Darfur and rural Sudan)
www.plan-international.org/wherewework/eastafricaeurope/sudan/
- Caritas
www.caritas.org.au/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Africa
- Care
www.care.org/careswork/countryprofiles/97.asp
- Oxfam
www.oxfam.org/development/sudan
- World Vision
www.worldvision.com.au/emergency/sudancrisis.asp
References
Amnesty International, country profile
www.amnestyusa.org/all-countries/sudan/page.do?id=1011244
European Institute for Research on Mediterranean and Euro-Arab Cooperation.
www.medea.be/index.html?page=2&lang=en&doc=185
Human Rights Watch. World report 2008
www.hrw.org/englishwr2k8/docs/2008/01/31/sudan17759.htm
Human Rights Watch. “Targeting the Fur: Mass Killings in Darfur”, 2005.
www.hrw.org/backgrounder/africa/darfur0105/index.htm
International Crisis Group, country profile
www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=1230&l=1
The Australian Government. ”Australia Strengthens its Commitment to Sudan”, 2007.
www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/RWP16436098EEB0CE8BCA2572D40009F598
United Nations Environment Programme, “Sudan: Post Conflict Environmental Assessment”, 2007
www.unep.org/sudan/
UNHCR, “Tenth periodic report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Sudan”, 2008
www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B9C2E/(httpNewsByYear_en)/2CA6B37D3797625EC125750F00385A64?OpenDocument
Further reading
BBC News Profile – Sudan
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/820864.stm
CIA World Factbook – Sudan
www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/su.html
Human Development Report on Sudan
http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_SDN.html
Human Rights Watch – Sudan
http://hrw.org/doc/?t=africa&c=sudan
Library of Congress – Sudan
www.loc.gov/rr/international/amed/sudan/sudan.html
OHCHR – Sudan
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/AfricaRegion/Pages/SDIndex.aspx
UNESCO Worldwide – Sudan
http://portal.unesco.org/geography/en/ev.php-URL_ID=2363&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
