Down About Darfur
Humanitarian Affairs
by <
http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/author/zscott/> Zach Scott | on June
17th, 2013 |
<
http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2013/06/16/down-about-darfur/#comments> 0
comments
The Secretary General's
<
http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2013/225> latest
quarterly report on the Africa Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in
Darfur (UNAMID) makes for grim reading. Citing frequent military clashes
between the Sudanese government and armed rebel forces, the report states
that increased violence in the region has displaced more than 300,000 people
since the beginning of the year, more than were displaced in the two
previous years combined. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) estimates that 2.3 million people remain displaced in the region,
with some camps, such as Zam Zam in North Darfur, housing over 100,000
people.
These figures are especially depressing given that last year officials at
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.N.
<
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/27/world/africa/darfur-refugees-returning-ho
me.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0> expressed hope that camp residents would
feel safe enough to return to their ancestral villages. Pointing to the
voluntary return of over 100,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and
refugees, officials from both organizations were optimistic that the initial
departures were the beginning of a larger trend.
After years of diplomacy, the presence of the U.N.'s largest peacekeeping
force, involvement of celebrities such as George Clooney and Mia Farrow in
high-profile advocacy campaigns, and billions of dollars in military and
humanitarian aid, Darfur is no longer front-page news. Violence in Syria,
Mali and Nigeria, to name a few of the more recent conflicts to grab
international headlines, stretch the already short attention spans of media
outlets (and their audiences) and have likely also contributed to donor
fatigue. Valerie Amos, the U.N.'s top humanitarian official, conceded as
much, stating that one of the major problems in assisting IDPs and refugees
in Darfur was making the case to donor nations about the
<
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/world/africa/new-strife-in-darfur-leaves-
many-seeking-refuge.html> importance of continued funding.
While the need to support those displaced by the conflict is evident in the
U.N.'s report, it is difficult to envision from where additional resources
will come - and whether the allocation of additional resources would make
much of difference on the ground. UNAMID has received billions of dollars
since its creation in 2007; however, its combined force of over 20,000
troops and police have been unable to keep civilians safe, with rape and
other forms of violence occurring daily in around the IDP and refugee camps
scattered throughout Darfur. Additionally, major multilateral funding
agencies have seen their budgets trimmed in recent years. For example,
UNHCR's budget for Sudan has been reduced from 232.5 million in 2011 to
133.9 million in 2012, with the appeal for 2013 estimated at
<
http://www.unhcr.org/50a9f822b.html> 116.7 million.
Further, the U.N.'s recent call for over
<
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/un-seeks-more-than-5-billio
n-for-syria/2013/06/07/b7d766e4-cf8a-11e2-9f1a-1a7cdee20287_story.html> five
billion dollars in humanitarian aid to assist individuals affected by the
complex humanitarian emergency in Syria will likely crowd out any
supplemental funding for Darfur. And there seems to be no high-level
political engagement on the issue, as there was in 2004 when then Secretary
of State Colin Powell acknowledged to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
that genocide was being perpetrated in the region.
As the peacemakers soldier on and aid agencies continue to provide much
needed support to some of those displaced by the conflict, the search for a
lasting and durable peace continues unremarkably. The most recent effort,
known as the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, has been in place since 2011
but has had little effect on the ground, with only the Sudanese government
and two of the numerous rebel factions endorsing it. Efforts by the Qatari
government to marshal an additional 7 billion dollars for economic
development and improved governance in Darfur seem unlikely to garner much
interest in the West. There is little appetite to cooperate with the
Sudanese government, especially its President, Omar al-Bashir, who has been
indicted at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. In
any event, despite the attention he is calling to the issue, it is doubtful
that Mr. Bashir is sincere in his attempts to aid Darfur - his willingness
to accept aid more than likely stems from his country's need to make up for
lost oil revenue after South Sudan's succession in 2011. An opposition
member in Sudan's government implied as much recently in The Economist,
stating Khartoum has little interest in making Darfur into a
<
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21575789-will-sudanese
-especially-darfuris-get-new-deal-cash-aid-and-diplomacy> functioning part
of Sudan.
Although positive moves by the Sudanese government to resolve the conflict
might end the American sanctions imposed on Sudan nearly ten years ago, it
is hard to see the situation on the ground changing dramatically in the near
future. The best hope for Darfur might be 2015, the year President Bashir
has said he will step down from power.
------------[ Sent via the dehai-wn mailing list by dehai.org]--------------
Received on Mon Jun 17 2013 - 17:32:29 EDT