Category: Blog

Stand up for Refugees of Darfur’s Forgotten Genocide

Washington, D.C. – As the international community prepares to mark World Refugee Day on June 20, 2015, Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG) seeks to direct the world’s attention to the dire conditions Darfuri refugees face around the world. According to a UN report, one in every 122 people in the world is a refugee. This troubling figure is what motivates us to speak up on behalf of the Darfuri people who have been brushed aside by the international media and who continue to suffer the ramifications of genocide.

The genocidal campaign in Sudan’s remote region has forced millions from their homes. Nearly one million people have crossed the border into neighboring countries, seeking a safe refuge from the genocidal bloodshed. An estimated 377,000 reside in Chad alone. In addition to the country’s socio-economic instability, Chad is hardly hospitable given the Sahel’s harsh climate. More worrying however is insecurity, coupled with the scarcity of resources, resulting in refugees and locals competing over limited food and electricity. Such feuding has the potential to lead to more violence and aggravate the humanitarian disaster refugees face. Moreover, an uncounted number of refugees have fled to Egypt, Jordan, the Central African Republic (CAR), Libya, South Sudan, Ghana and Syria, where many continue to live without recognition by the UNHCR. In many cases, host countries have been mired in conflict, as is the case in the CAR, South Sudan, Syria and Libya, ultimately leaving refugees stuck in another war zone.

Some refugees have lived for over a decade without the means to support their basic needs. For instance, Darfuri refugees in Jordan not only lack meaningful support from UN agencies, but are also barred from seeking employment. If discovered working, they are jailed by the Jordanian authorities and subsequently deported back to Sudan, where they face further persecution they once thought to have left behind. Finally, the refugee crisis has literally torn families apart. Because men and boys are primarily targeted for killing and kidnapping, women constitute the overwhelming majority of those who become displaced. Women and children flee with minimal means of subsistence. Furthermore, Darfuri refugees living in South Sudan have yet to be recognized as such by the UNHCR, leaving them vulnerable to a host of problems without any legal recourse to seek aid and protection.

We recognize the tireless efforts made by the UNHCR and many Western governments, including the United States in particular, to process, receive and provide protection to refugees. Nonetheless, these efforts have been limited in scope, and as a result refugees are unable to adequately integrate themselves in their new societies given the trauma years of repression has inflicted. Furthermore, countless refugees remain in transit countries for prolonged periods and are confined to a constant state of legal and socioeconomic precarity.

The impact of war has yielded more than physical harm, with many refugees suffering grave emotional and social repercussions that include but are not limited to: psychological trauma, cessation of academic study, family disintegration, social exclusion, exploitation and human trafficking, violence against women and child labor.

Our call:

In light of the widespread humanitarian crisis affecting Darfuri refugees, DWAG urges the following:

– The international community must redouble its efforts to provide protection to refugees persons as warranted by international humanitarian law. Political and economic assistance to countries that absorb vast amounts of refugees must be made on the condition that host countries guarantee legal and socioeconomic protections to displaced persons so that they have the opportunity to lead dignified lives.

– UNHCR must develop effective mechanisms to reduce the arduous process refugees and asylum seekers face when asking for legal status and recognition.

– International organizations working on refugee resettlement must incorporate a culturally competent approach to dealing with refugees who have suffered genocidal policies.

– Legal aid is urgently needed to assist refugees subject to arbitrary arrest and other threats.

We recognize the work done by international NGOs in responding to the needs of Darfuri refugees, yet there remains a profound misunderstanding of the calamity’s magnitude. We call on the US government and other international actors, particularly UN agencies, to develop enhanced services to refugees affected by genocide. Providing them with legal protections, counseling and socioeconomic assistance will allow refugees to lead a meaningful life. Nevertheless, binding solutions must be found to halt the unrestrained flight of Darfuris from their homeland.

About us

Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG) is a U.S. based Darfuri women led anti-atrocities organization that works with victims and survivors of the Darfur genocide, both within the diaspora and back home in Sudan. We provide them with the means to address human rights abuses in their society and work with others to promote accountability and justice.

To support our work please visit: Donate

The widespread tumult afflicting various crisis areas has preoccupied the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) agenda of late. From the civil wars in Syria and Ukraine to the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, the world powers that have permanent seats at the UN’s highest organ have spared no time in jockeying for their interests. Yet an issue that may not keep the foreign ministers of each UNSC member up at night is also an urgent one: renewing the mandate of the joint African Union (AU) and UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur, which is set to expire at the end of the month.

The UN-AU peacekeeping Mission in Darfur, also known as UNAMID, was authorized three years after a unanimous vote in the U.S. Congress declared the Janjaweed’s campaign in Darfur genocide. The UN Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 1769 on July 31, 2007, formally establishing the peacekeeping mission with a core mandate of protecting civilians.

International peacekeeping missions are often deplored for their narrow mandates and limited ability to enforce terms of peace, yet UNAMID has proven more ignominious than most. Seven years after its initial deployment, the hybrid force has become enmeshed in perpetual controversy. Atrocities committed by various militia groups cease to wane, yet more troubling than its inability to deal with the violence is the mission’s history of partiality towards Khartoum and its proxies, illustrated by various cover-ups of heinous human rights abuses. The initial authorization of UNAMID made provisions for a deployment of 27,000 personnel, but restrictions imposed by the Sudanese government have limited the mission’s ability to fulfill its mandate in its entirety. Moreover, UNAMID has continually underreported the scale of human rights abuses in Darfur, with estimates of the number of those displaced, killed or raped consistently differing from reports on the ground. Furthermore, UNAMID has demonstrated its reticence to go after government-backed forces operating inside Darfur, allowing the genocide to continue unabated. Finally, the mission has failed to adequately protect its own personnel, with 216 fatalities as of June 2015.

In an article published in Foreign Policy, UNAMID’s former spokeswoman, Aisha Elbasri, outlines an instance in which UNAMID and other UN agencies misled the public as to what was happening in Darfur. Following reports of clashes in Tawila, an area in northern Darfur, Elbasri sought information from UNAMID officials to relay to the press. She was told that the situation was calm, with team site commanders describing armed militias leaving the area. However, upon deploying a verification mission to Tawila, she discovered that the information given by UNAMID officials was false. Government forces had in fact attacked four villages inhabited predominantly by Fur and Zaghawa ethnic groups, and subsequently raped multiple women, assaulted civilians, and destroyed several farms, forcing thousands to flee. Unfortunately, these types of incidents are common and have been thoroughly documented by credible sources inside Darfur. Read more here: http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/04/09/we-cant-say-all-that-we-see-in-darfur/

In addition to these troubling developments, Khartoum now insists that UNAMID’s mandate, due for renewal on June 30th, be abolished. It wants all peacekeeping forces out of the country, and has faced limited international opprobrium for its position. With Western leaders preoccupied with the widespread upheaval in the region, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is hedging his bets that the UNSC will turn a blind eye.

International humanitarian law mandates that when states fail to protect their populations from mass atrocities, as is the case in Sudan, the international community has an obligation to protect citizens from human rights abuses. Given the ongoing atrocities in Sudan, perpetuated by the international community’s incompetent response, Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG) believes the world citizens must hold its leaders accountable and remind them of their legal and moral obligations under the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect. Faced with heinous war crimes and crimes against humanity, world leaders cannot simply turn a blind eye to Darfur’s suffering.

DWAG demands that the UNSC ensures that UNAMID and various other UN bodies operating inside Sudan no longer be subordinate to Khartoum’s dictates and instead have the ability to feasibly execute their stated mandates. The United States is the largest contributor to the UN as well as UNAMID’s operating budget and hence possesses the leverage necessary to hold both the UN and the Sudanese government accountable. Moreover, we also urge the UNSC to exercise its power and disallow the withdrawal of the peacekeeping mission despite Khartoum’s objections. In the event that UNAMID is decommissioned, an alternate international protection force must be deployed prior to UNAMID’s departure.

To leave millions of Darfuris at the mercy of government-sponsored rape and death squads would be another unconscionable act of abandonment, only this time with the consent of the international community.

To show your support for the people of Darfur, sign this petition to the UN: https://www.change.org/p/united-nations-security-council-don-t-abandon-the-people-of-darfur-and-renew-unamid-s-mandate

After posing with other African leaders for pictures at the African Union (AU) Summit in South Africa over the weekend, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was allowed to leave the country despite a warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes. South Africa is a party to the Rome Statute, and was obligated under international law to arrest and surrender the autocrat to the ICC’s jurisdiction. His unhindered travel to yet another international summit further dampens the ICC’s relevance and undermines entrenched standards of international criminal law.

While such an affront to international norms dismays the ICC and victims of the genocide in Darfur, the South African government’s decision to not detain the dictator constitutes a major blow to the rule of law inside the Rainbow Nation. Upon al-Bashir’s arrival in South Africa, the Pretoria High Court had issued an interim order prohibiting the Sudanese leader from leaving the country until the case could resume on June 15, 2015. The South African court was mulling whether he should be arrested and handed over to the ICC. The executive branch instead ignored the court’s ruling and welcomed the international fugitive with open arms.

The South African government’s utter disregard for both international and domestic law is troubling for a country with such a revered struggle for justice and human rights. The South African people must now mobilize themselves to keep President Jacob Zuma and the African National Congress (ANC) accountable to the rule of law if the country is too tackle its sundry challenges with regard to fighting poverty and violence sparked by xenophobia. Moreover, South Africa risks loosing its international standing as a leading African democracy if its leaders continue to coddle the world’s most infamous fugitives.

The Odious Guest and Citizen-led Accountability: Will South Africa Pass the Test? The prospect of yesterday’s freedom fighter becoming today’s accomplice is dismaying for a country with such a revered history of fighting injustice.

Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir is not your typical transnational fugitive. The first sitting head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), al-Bashir has resided comfortably in Khartoum since charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes were brought against him in 2009. In spite of widespread international opprobrium over the decade long bloodshed in Darfur, al-Bashir not only continues to lead a public life but also regularly travels to other countries, attending official functions in his capacity as the Sudanese head of state. Since 2009, al-Bashir has traveled across several continents, making trips to countries including Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and China among others. His current liberty highlights not only the dearth of an effective enforcement arm at the ICC but also illustrates the reticence of world leaders to abide by their obligations and responsibilities as political and legal authorities. Such trends have in turn undermined established standards of international law.

Recently, al-Bashir was invited to attend the African Union (AU) Summit in South Africa, scheduled to take place from the 7th to the 15th of June. As a member of the ICC and the United Nations (UN), South Africa would be violating international law if it did not comply with the ICC warrant to arrest and surrender al-Bashir. Yet his invitation is also at odds with domestic law, given South Africa’s implementation of the ICC Act of 2002. As a result, the Rainbow Nation is playing politics at the expense of the rule of law, a worrying development for a country that has undergone a prolonged struggle for justice and human rights.

The invitation of the infamous fugitive represents both an opportunity and a challenge for Africa’s leading democracy. South African authorities may have extended an invitation to al-Bashir as a formality, ready to abide by their legal obligations under the Rome Statute and arrest and surrender the autocrat if he decides to enter their territory. However, the invitation could also represent President Jacob Zuma’s attempt to take the law into his own hands and violate both domestic and international law. Regardless of the government’s intentions, the people of South Africa retain momentous influence over their policymakers. President Zuma may be able to snub Darfur’s calls for justice, yet he cannot ignore his people. Hence, it is imperative that South Africans hold their government accountable for its actions.

In light of this, Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG) and its partners have not let the ambiguous actions of the South African government go unnoticed. Bashir Watch, a coalition of human rights groups, recently sent a letter pressuring the South African authorities to respect the rule of law. http://bashirwatch.org/2015/06/04/south-africa-invites-bashir-to-participate-in-african-union-summit/ The letter was penned on behalf of a diverse group of civil society organizations including the Coalition of the International Criminal Court, the International Justice Project, United to End Genocide, Waging Peace, UK and DWAG. The coalition’s efforts have been successful on numerous occasions, most notably in preventing President al-Bashir’s notorious attempt to visit the United States for a UN summit. These organizations have focused on keeping not only the Sudanese authorities accountable for the atrocities committed in Darfur, but also the international community in its lackluster response to the unremitting barbarity that has ravaged Sudan’s remote region. As governments attempt to walk away from their responsibilities, citizens must be empowered to hold their leaders accountable and remind them of their obligations, an approach that DWAG has worked tirelessly to promote. Non-state actors shouldn’t have to bear the burden of fighting genocide, yet Darfur’s abandonment by the international community leaves those with a conscience no other choice but to remain true to the 20th century’s harshest lesson: ‘’never again’’.