Category: Statements

DWAG Stands in Solidarity with Ukraine

Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG) writes to express concern about the unjust Russian invasion of Ukraine and to extend solidarity and support to Ukrainians. We believe that Ukrainians have the right to live in peace. The attack on Ukraine is an early warning sign for genocide and mass atrocities that the international community must take seriously. 

In particular, we stand in solidarity with Ukrainian women and children who will bear the harshest effects of the war. The devastating effects of this war are creating the worst humanitarian crisis in Europe in recent history. Women and children are needing basic necessities and as many as 500,000 innocent people are dispersing to neighboring countries such as Hungary, Poland, Moldova, and Slovakia. According to the United Nations, this refugee crisis is likely to lead to 5 million people displaced. DWAG calls on the international community to use an effective approach and urge parties to deescalate the crises, uphold human rights, and respect all international humanitarian laws. 

We equally urge the neighboring countries to welcome Ukrainian refugees, particularly women and children, and to stand in solidarity with all Ukrainians who are suffering. We also urge them to provide protection for both Ukrainians and foreign citizens in Ukraine who have been forced to leave their homes. We ask our supporters to speak up for and stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and call for a peaceful resolution of the situation. It’s imperative to remind Russia that any dispute between nations must not take the form of military intervention or the use of force, but rather the use of negotiation and existing peaceful mechanisms. 

You can also use hashtags such as #solidarity4Ukraine to speak up for the women of Ukraine and all those who are suffering.

 

 

Critical Humanitarian Crisis in Darfur as a Direct Result of the Coup

Critical Humanitarian Crisis in Darfur as a Direct Result of the Coup  

The government in Khartoum and those responsible must be held accountable

Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG) is alarmed by the reports of the looting of various former UN agencies’ compounds in El Fasher, North Darfur. The looting started on December 24-25 and has increased the region’s instability, as the vacuum created by the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur’s (UNAMID) withdrawal at the end of 2020 created a fragile foundation for peace and security throughout Darfur.

In early January, a large group of army soldiers, paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), police officers, and former rebel combatants raided UNAMID’s former headquarters of its remaining supplies and the current most extensive United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in Darfur. This included the theft of four-wheel-drive vehicles, lorries, equipment, food items, and various other devices that DWAG fears will be used against the people of Sudan in their continued peaceful protests against the military junta and its coup led on October 25. This has caused an unprecedented threat and level of fear among UN agencies and international and national NGOs and has forced most to suspend their critical operations that provide lifesaving assistance for thousands of Darfuris, including internally-displaced people (IDPs) in the area.

In response, on December 31, the WFP suspended its operations after looting started on December 29 in all three of its facilities in the region. The WFP says the suspension could affect close to two million people. This is alarming, as an estimated 10.9 million people are food insecure in Sudan and in need of livelihood assistance.

The most recent incident began on Saturday, February 5 when an armed group attacked the former UNAMID headquarters in El Fasher, North Darfur. According to a military statement, Major General Fadhil El Malik of the Sudanese coalition forces and Lieutenant Muhammad Ezeldin of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were killed in the armed conflict. The North Darfur Security Committee has begun an investigation into the incident. General Nimr Abdelrahman, the Governor of North Darfur, has directed all armed struggle movement forces to leave the city and move to predetermined assembly points within 72 hours.

We at DWAG are dismayed by the new humanitarian crisis emerging due to the looting of these sites and how it will continue disrupting the lives of Darfuris. Attacking, looting, and burning UN agencies’ properties and interfering in other humanitarian operations constitutes a grave violation of international human rights and humanitarian law. Attacks against humanitarian agencies have been used to deepen the suffering of the genocide victims still living in camps, as their lives and livelihood have depended on humanitarian assistance for two decades. The resurgence of these tactics, which were also used by the Bashir regime, is causing IDPs to face further starvation, disease, and lack of lifesaving services.

Those on the ground believe that the looting, attacks and ensuing instability have occurred because of the coup d’etat. The continued use of starvation as a weapon of war in the longstanding crisis in Darfur has prolonged the suffering of the people of Darfur and is often ignored by the international community. Attacks on civilians in Darfur and across Sudan continue, and these recent incidents have occurred because of the failure of the international community to impose accountability measures on those responsible. The people of Darfur have suffered far too long, and the international community must pay attention to their suffering and heed their calls for peace, justice, and accountability in both this immediate crisis and the long term.

Therefore, DWAG calls upon the international community, the member states of the United Nations Security Council, particularly the United States government, to impose the following consequences on the military junta for these violations of international humanitarian law and the violence they have perpetrated since the end of October:

●      Track, seize, and restore the looted materials immediately so that the Sudanese armed forces cannot use them against the people of Sudan.

●      Impose targeted sanctions that freeze the assets of Sudanese military leaders and help the people of Sudan restore the stolen public funds accumulated by the military juntas to be redistributed for the benefit of the Sudanese people.

●      Impose a travel ban on the Sudanese military generals responsible for orchestrating the coup, attacking civilians, and looting humanitarian organizations’ and UN agencies’ assets.

ICC Indictees Campaign

As DWAG kicks off our Indictee Tracker campaign to hold the interim Sudanese government accountable to their promise to turn over Harun, al Bashir, and Hussein to the International Criminal Court (ICC), we want to remind our network of their charges and why the immediate transfer to ICC custody is essential to securing justice for Darfur.

The most time-sensitive case is that of Ahmad Muhammad Harun. Harun is charged with 20 counts of crimes against humanity including murder, persecution, the forcible transfer of population, rape, inhumane acts, imprisonment or severe deprivation of, and torture. He is also charged with 22 counts of war crimes including murder, attacks against the civilian population, destruction of property, rape, pillaging, and outrage upon personal dignity. His arrest warrant was issued on April 27, 2007 for crimes committed between at least August 2003 to March 2004. The attacks were carried out by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the janjaweed militia on West Darfur villages (Kodoom, Bindisi, Mukjar, and Arawala). 

In his capacity as Minister of State for the Interior during 2003-2005, Harun leveraged the “Darfur Security Desk” against the people of Darfur. He also recruited, mobilised, funded and armed the janjaweed to attack in tandem with government forces (including local police, SAF, and intelligence agencies). After his tenure as Minister of State for the Interior, Harun served as Sudan’s Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs, Governor of South Kordofan, and Governor of North Kordofan before being imprisoned in the aftermath of the 2019 coup.

Harun must be immediately turned over to the ICC so he may be tried alongside Ali Kushayb. Ali Kushayb was a former leader of janjaweed forces who worked directly with Harun to secure the janjaweed with the resources and security to perpetrate the Darfur genocide. He is currently in ICC custody and awaiting a confirmation of charges. 151 victims have been authorized to testify during his trial. However, as both leaders conspired to enable attacks on West Darfur, their victims are one in the same. They have waited too long to see justice. Until Harun and Ali Kushayb are tried together, accountability for the heinous attacks on Kodoom, Bindisi, Mukjar, and Arawala between August 2003 – March 2004 cannot be fully realized.

Former President of the Republic of Sudan Omar Hassan Ahmad al Bashir has been in Sudanese custody since ousted from power on April 11, 2019. Al Bashir was the first sitting president to be charged by the ICC on March 4, 2009 and then again on July 12, 2010 for crimes committed between at least March 2003 and July 14, 2008 across Darfur. Al Bashir is charged with five counts of crimes against humanity including murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture, and rape. He is also charged with two counts of war crimes including intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population and against innocent individual civilians, and pillaging. Lastly, al Bashir is charged with three counts of genocide by means of killing, by causing serious bodily or mental harm, and by deliberately inflicting on each target group conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction. Such conditions of life include contaminating the water supply of entire communities, coordinating government forces and janjaweed militias to threaten villages, and preventing aid from reaching those in need. 

President al Bashir launched a genocidal campaign against the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa tribes for their perceived connection to opposition movements. The ICC charges him as a primary driver and implementer of the campaign in exercising full control of the government branches and janjaweed militias. Among his victims are thousands of murdered civilians, the rape of thousands of women, hundreds of thousands of civilians forcibly transferred. So far, 12 of these victims have been authorized to participate in the proceedings. DWAG strongly urges for the ICC to work with survivors and bring more victim testimony to the international court for justice after al Bashir is transferred to ICC custody.

Former Minister of National Defense Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein has also been in Sudanese custody since the aftermath of the 2019 coup. Hussein is charged with seven counts of crimes against humanity including persecution, murder, forcible transfer, rape, inhumane acts, imprisonment or severe deprivation of liberty, and torture. He is also charged with six counts of war crimes including murder, attacks against a civilian population, destruction of property, rape, pillaging, and outrage upon personal dignity. His arrest warrant was issued on March 1, 2012 for crimes committed between at least 2003 and 2004 across Darfur.

Hussein used his position as Minister of National Defense to coordinate government resources and armed forces to execute al Bashir’s genocidal campaign against Darfur. He actively recruited, armed, and funded local police and janjaweed alike to carry out civilian attacks against the people of Darfur. Hussein was instrumental in the attacks against the Fur populations of Kodoom, Bindisi, Mukjar, and Arawala. Prior to his tenure as Minister of National Defense, Hussein served as Minister of the Interior and Special Representative of the President in Darfur.

The people of Darfur have waited long enough to have their day in court and tell the world of the heinous crimes they endured. Darfur and the Two Areas continue to be plagued by violence and acts of genocide that were initially perpetrated and enabled by Harun, al Bashir, and Hussein. The interim government remains riddled with remnants of the previous administration intent on impeding the restoration of justice. The transfer of Harun, al Bashir, and Hussein is an essential step towards securing the confidence of the people of Darfur and fulfilling their promise of justice. The imprisonment of the indictees in Sudanese custody proves insufficient to the magnitude of their crimes. DWAG urges the interim government to keep their promise and immediately transfer the indictees to ICC custody. The interim government cannot waver in their commitment to serving Sudanese civilians, including and especially the diverse people of Darfur.

Un Women’s Generation Equality Forum

In light of UN Women’s Generation Equality Forum, Darfur Women Action Group is sharing how Darfuri women are answering to the devastating inequalities they face. Though an afterthought to most governments, gender inequality has bled into the world of genocide, making women significantly more vulnerable to violence, specifically sexual violence, than men. The women of Darfur are meeting this challenge with strength. 

To hear more voices from Darfur, read the stories below. They have been collected by Darfur Women Action Group as a way to raise awareness to the situation of women and girls in Darfur. They do not only show the horror of the mass atrocities in Darfur, but also the courage and resilience that these individuals have demonstrated in the face of the longest genocide in history. 

Between Unspeakable Suffering and Outstanding Resilience

My name is Hawa Mohamed and I lived in a beautiful village in Darfur surrounded by tall acacia trees. Towards the west, there was a green valley named Azum that provided us with mango, guavas, oranges, and beautiful gardens for six months during the rainy season. Toward the east, there were sugarcane farms. I considered everyone in my village to be rich. Through hard work, they cultivated all types of grains, vegetables, and fruits. They also raised goats, sheep, and cows. Most people had what they needed to survive and only went to the market to buy clothes, soap, and sugar. Everyone was very friendly and supportive. If you needed help building a house, the community would come together and finish the house in one day. Life was beautiful and I was very happy.

Read more of Hawa’s story…

It Was The Happiest Moment, and I Will Never Have it Back

My name is Aisha Khalil and I am currently living in an internally displaced person (IDP) camp in central Darfur. I am here because my life changed in July 2003, when I was only 10 years old. It was a beautiful sunny day in my village. It was a market day, which was always the best day of the week because my mom, dad, and grandmother would purchase all sorts of fruits and snacks for my siblings and me. In the evening, we gathered outside as they distributed our gifts. Grandmother told us stories under the moonlight and pointed out this one star that was higher than usual. She said it was a sign that it wasn’t going to rain much this year. We all laughed and asked how she knew such things. It was the happiest moment, and I will never have it back.

Read more of Aisha’s story…

I Went to Jail Because I am Not Afraid to Stand Up for Rape Victims

My name is Fatima Gazali. I was born in Kurdufan, an area in Western Sudan. My family is from Darfur and still live there, so I consider myself to be a Darfuri as well. As a child, I used to enjoy watching movies on television, particularly the ones that had female characters that were journalists. They seemed so empowered and independent – everything that I wanted to become someday. As a teenager, I began imitating those characters by writing for school magazines and newspapers. I eventually went to college to study journalism. In 2001, I graduated and started working for a local newspaper in the capital of Sudan.

Read more of Fatima’s story…

Lost and Helpless At a Camp In Chad

My name is Amani E. and I am a refugee from Darfur currently living in the Cary Yary Refugee camp in eastern Chad. I was born in Amboro village, in north Darfur, and I used to work as an elementary school teacher. I loved my job. Now I am a widow, and I raise two beautiful daughters who have lost their dad.

Read more of Amani’s story…

Statement on the US Denial of Entry Visa for Salah Gosh

The Darfur Women Action Group commends Secretary of State Pompeo and the United States’ decision to deny the entry visa of Salah Gosh, former head of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). We appreciate the commitment that the United States showed in holding Gosh accountable for his actions in the Darfur genocide, which includes gross violations of human rights and torture. In the future, we hope the United States shows a continued dedication in holding all members of the former al-Bashir regime responsible for their involvement in the genocide in Darfur. We urge Secretary Pompeo to use other effective tools such as travel bans, asset freezing, sanctions, and criminal accountability measures to hold perpetrators of such serious crimes accountable. We also urge Secretary Pompeo to use these tools to prevent members of the former al-Bashir regime from collaborating with the United States, its international allies, and its regional allies at all levels. This action by the Secretary of State demonstrates the United States’ leadership’s commitment to the prevention of atrocities, such as gross human rights violations, and their ability to hold criminals accountable.  

Civil Society Groups Delivered Urgent Letter to the UNSC and the ICC States Parties

On August 7th, the Darfur Women Action Group, along with eighteen other civil society groups, sent an urgent letter to the member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) urging them to expedite the arrest of al-Bashir and other Sudanese officials indicted by the ICC.  The letter stressed that al-Bashir is no longer a head of state and there has never been a better time in Sudan to implement the pending ICC arrest warrants.

Read the full text of the letter here: Urgent Letter to UNSC and ICC 7 Aug.

We urge you to join us on social media by sharing this letter and denouncing al-Bashir. Collectively we can make a difference and bring an end to the genocide in Darfur. 

 

Statement On the Appointment of Donald Booth, Special Envoy for Sudan

The Darfur Women Action Group does not approve of the appointment of Donald Booth as the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan. We are wholly disappointed by his tenure as Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan under the Obama administration, and sincerely question his ability to produce tangible results for the U.S. government or the people of Sudan.
Booth is a career diplomat. It is not doubted that he is well-respected in Washington, and well-traveled on the continent of Africa. We refuse, however, to compromise the right we have for competency in our diplomats for that of seniority or ‘experience.’ We believe a new appointment––a fresh diplomatic face––with a less tumultuous past is necessary.
Donald Booth led the effort to “pave a road toward…normalization of U.S.-Sudan relations,” as he stated in a 2014 Atlantic Council meeting. Booth wanted to forge a relationship with Sudan on a “restoration of a relationship based on mutual understanding and shared interests.” The Darfur Women Action Group cannot fathom how the US can possibly maintain a ‘mutual understanding’ with a regime actively committing genocide. Booth, however, still perceived this relationship as peaceful. Booth was complacent; he failed to defend American values: protecting fundamental liberties and rights.
Under Ambassador Booth’s leadership, the people of Sudan have lost faith in America, its ability to broker peace. The Trump Administration has the opportunity to contribute to lasting peace in Sudan, but only if they can appoint a diplomat with the conviction and motivation to affect real change.
Not only did Booth want to normalize relations with a murderous regime, he actively neglected those being murdered. During his initial fact-finding missions to North and Central Darfur in 2016, Booth was silent. Booth failed to put forth any statements regarding the atrocities committed. We cannot trust him to speak up now. Internally displaced individuals who talked to Booth during his visits were quickly arrested afterward by the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service Forces without any prevail by Booth to grant them release or protection. His appointment will once again silence those who have been suffering in Darfur for 17 years.
For years the American public and policymakers have protested the longstanding crises in Darfur and consistently called for U.S. leadership in holding Sudan accountable. Similarly, in the recent weeks, they mobilized again in support of the people of Sudan demanding effective U.S. policy that will put the halt to the suffering and pave the way for peace, something that Both has repeatedly failed to deliver upon.
The people of Sudan have suffered long enough. Rather than appointing someone with a history of overlooking violations of human rights in the country, we urge the United States to select a diplomat not simply of expertise, but of passion, of a deep understanding of Sudan and its relations.