Ethnic Cleansing in Sudan

The government of Sudan is responsible for “ethnic cleansing” and crimes against humanity in Darfur, which is located on Sudan’s western border with Chad (. The Sudanese government, along with the Arab “Janjaweed” militias they arm and support, have attacked the civilians of the African Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups. These attacks involved massacres, summary executions of civilians, burnings of towns and villages, and the forceful depopulation of Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa land. The militia, Muslim like the African groups, have destroyed many religious artifacts including the desecrated Qorans that belong to their enemies (Human Rights Watch, 2004, p. 5).

The Sudanese government is breaching at least two articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR); Article 3, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person”, (General Assembly Resolution, 1948, Article 3) and Article 5, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. (General Assembly Resolution, 1948, Article 5) The government has not only killed thousands of Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa civilians - they have, with the help of their Janjaweed allies, raped women, destroyed food supplies, and forced over one million civilians into camps and settlements in Darfur where they are “on the very edge of survival” (Human Rights Watch, 2004, p. 5) and subject to regular Janjaweed abuses. These breaches are very serious and need to be addressed appropriately.

The conflicts that lead to the human rights breaches were a recent escalation of a long-standing disagreement. In February 2003, the rebel groups SLA/M (Sudan Liberation Army/Movement) and JEM (Justice and Equality Movement) demanded an end to chronic economic marginalisation and sought to share power within the Sudanese state. The government responded to this threat by targeting the civilian population from which members of these movements were drawn - the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa ethnic groups. To help their cause, the Sudanese government formed a military and political partnership with some Arab nomads (now known as the Janjaweed) by arming them, training them and offering impunity for all their crimes.

At the present time (22.5.2004) some action has taken place to address the result of the UDHR breaches. On the 28th of April the World Food Programme (WFP) led a high-level mission to Sudan to gather first-hand information on the humanitarian situation. The outcomes of this mission will not be known for a period of time but it is reported on the 17th of May “a WFP hired truck driver was robbed, beaten and subsequently hospitalized” (UN estimates…, 2004, para. 6) and “internally displaced persons (IDPs) who accept food aid (from WFP) were subject to Janjaweed militia predatory attacks”. (UN estimates…, 2004, para. 9) Although expected, these actions show that there is still a long way to go before there is peace.

An immediate ceasefire between the two groups would prevent any further breaches of Article 3 of the UDHR. The Sudanese government and Janjaweed militia must stop the ethnic cleansing in Darfur. The UN mission stationed there must then assess the safety of the civilians. If civilian safety is at risk, UN member states should look into providing military assistance.

The Janjaweed militia must be stopped for there to be an end to breaches of Article 5 of the UDHR. There are one million IDPs in various camps and settlements in Darfur and most are partly controlled by the Janjaweed (UN estimates…, 2004, para. 3). If the Janjaweed are still armed and dangerous - the civilians at these camps will still be abused. There are two ways the Janjaweed can be stopped: by overwhelming them militaristically or cutting the Sudanese government funding and support. The latter option would probably result in the fewest loss of lives. This option, however, would only work if both the UN and the people of Sudan immensely pressure the government to withdraw. It is also looks particularly unappealing to the government because, once stopped, a lot of the members have committed crimes against humanity and would be charged as doing so.

There must be no Janjaweed presence in the west of Sudan should the refugees and IDPs decide to return to their land. If the Janjaweed members were to remain, there would be a similar situation to that in Kosovo, where, although they once coexisted peacefully, Muslims would not return home after the Serbian aggression, as put by a Muslim woman, “How could I live next to Serb again, after Serbs murdered my son?” (Henderson, Ann, 1999, para. 5) There was similar negativity amongst the Serbs, “I never want to see another Muslim,” (Henderson, Ann, 1999, para. 5) said one Bosnian Serb. The Sudanese government must be reformed and the Janjaweed gone before the victims