Sudan: Darfur crisis (pub. Oct. 27, 2006)

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During a briefing to the UN Security Council on Oct. 27, 2006, Jan Pronk, the senior UN envoy to Sudan, reiterated his view that the Sudanese government was seeking a military solution to the crisis in the country’s western region of Darfur, saying that it had committed a series of violations of the Darfur peace agreement. The briefing was called by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan after Pronk was instructed by the Sudanese authorities on Oct. 22 to leave the country within 72 hours having publicly criticised the continued use of force in Darfur by Sudan’s army.

Immediate context

Pronk’s comments followed reports on Sept. 5 that Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir had ordered 7,000 troops from the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) , which was in the country to monitor compliance with the peace agreement, to leave the region by the end of September. The Security Council had on Aug. 31 approved Resolution 1706 (2006), which authorised the creation of a UN peacekeeping force for Darfur, but this was rejected by the government as "unjustifiable hostility".  Minni Arcua Minnawi, the leader of the main faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), announced on May 5 that he had accepted the Darfur peace agreement, which had been prepared by the African Union (AU), just days after the government had also accepted it and following some two years of negotiations in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.

Reaction and outlook

Pronk on Oct. 27, 2006, told the Security Council that the "government is mobilising more and more forces in the region", adding that "Security Council resolutions forbidding offensive air operations are being neglected". Jean-Marie Guehenno, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told reporters, also on Oct. 27, that the UN was seeking to prevent the Darfur crisis from spilling over into the neighbouring countries of Chad and the Central African Republic.

Historical context

The Darfur crisis had erupted in February 2003 when the militants of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) launched attacks against government forces in the region. The militants accused the government of neglecting the region and oppressing black Africans--mainly Christians--in favour of the Arab community in the region. In response the government mounted a campaign of aerial bombardment in support of ground attacks by an Arab militia, the janjawiet. The UN in November 2004 described the situation in Darfur as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. According to a UN commissioned report, which was published on Feb. 1, 2005 , the Sudanese government and its janjawiet militia was to blame for the destruction of an estimated 700 villages and violence that had seen tens of thousands people killed and 1.8 million displaced. The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands, announced in June 2005 that it would open an investigation into war crimes cases from Sudan, following a Security Council vote on the matter in March. In a report issued on Dec. 12, 2005, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) claimed that since July 2003 Sudanese government forces and the janjawiet militia had committed crimes against humanity and war crimes "on a massive scale" during counter-insurgency operations in Darfur.  The report alleged that the Sudanese government "at the highest levels" was responsible for widespread and systematic abuses in Darfur. The ICC had on June 14 presented to the Security Council a report on its ongoing investigation into alleged war crimes in Darfur. According to the report, the ICC had been able to document thousands of of instances where civilians had been deliberately killed, including "a significant number of large-scale massacres, targeting specific ethnic groups.

Timeline

• September 2006 President Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir orders 7,000 troops from the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) to leave the region by the end of September; UN Security Council approves Resolution 1709 (2006) extending the UNMIS mandate. 
• August 2006 The UN Security Council approves Resolution 1706 (2006) authorising the creation of a UN peacekeeping force for Darfur. 
• July 2006 The African Union (AU) agrees to a UN request to extend the mandate of its military mission in Darfur (the AU Mission in the Sudan--AMIS). 
• June 2006 The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands, Luis Moreno Ocampo, presents to the UN Security Council a report on the ICC’s ongoing investigation into alleged war crimes in Darfur. 
• May 2006 The main faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) announces that it has accepted the peace agreement with the government. 
• April 2006 The government announces its acceptance of the peace agreement prepared by the African Union. 
• March 2006 The African Union agrees to extend for a further six-month period the AU Mission in the Sudan (AMIS). 
• February 2006 Reports of an upsurge in violence. 
• January 2006 The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) announce that they have agreed to unite to form the Allied Revolutionary Forces of Western Sudan. 
• December 2005 Publication of a report by the New York-based Human Rights Watch alleging war crimes committed by the Sudanese government forces and the janjawiet militia. 
• October 2005 Rebels in Darfur kidnap 38 African Union peacekeepers near Tine, close to the border with Chad.  
• September 2005 UN warning on level of violence. 
• July 2005 Condoleezza Rice speaks of Sudan’s "credibility problem" over Darfur. 
• June 2005 Launch of ICC investigation into alleged war crimes in Darfur; NATO agrees to airlift AU peace keepers in co-operation with the EU; US vetoes giving overall co-ordination to the EU. 
• May 2005 UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan warns that an "epic relief effort" will be required if violence continues; African summit chaired by Col Moamer al Kadhafi calls for EU and NATO assistance. 
• March 2005 UN Security Council resolution on Darfur war crimes refers war crimes suspects from the Darfur region to the ICC. 
• February 2005 Cassese report concludes that widespread crimes in Darfur did not constitute genocide, but may be "no less heinous"; USA calls for UN sanctions but opposes the involvement of the ICC. 
• January 2005 Comprehensive southern peace agreement signed. 
• December 2004 AU commander describes region as "time bomb"; suspension of AU operations. 
• November 2004 UN describes Darfur as world’s worst humanitarian crisis; Security Council threatens to take "appropriate action" against any party failing to fulfil its commitments in Darfur; several countries, including China and Russia, resist the threat of stronger action against the Sudanese government. 
• October 2004 Kofi Annan recommends that the AU force be given new powers including the power to protect internally displaced persons and refugees and to disarm fighters. 
• September 2004 UN threatens sanctions over Darfur; resolution requests that UN Secretary-General establish an international commission of inquiry in order to determine whether or not acts of genocide have occurred. 
• August 2004 Arab League foreign ministers unanimously oppose threats of sanctions against Sudan and the possibility of Western military intervention; deployment of French troops in border areas. 
• July 2004 AU agrees to send 300 troops to protect refugees and to monitor a ceasefire in Darfur; UN Security Council approves resolution which demands that the Sudanese government fulfils its commitments to disarm the janjawiet militias within 30 days, or face the threat of international sanctions; US congressional resolutions declare that "the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are genocide". 
• June 2004 Humanitarian crisis in Darfur; donors’ meeting. 
• May 2004 Election of Sudan to UN human rights commission; UN Security Council is told that a "reign of terror" is taking place and that war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed. 
• April 2004 A ceasefire in Darfur is signed but regularly flouted. 
• December 2003 Rebel offensive. 
• March 2003 Outbreak of anti-government rebellion in Darfur.
• June 1998 Clashes between Arab and non-Arab communities in Darfur. 
• November 1991 Activities of Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in Darfur.