How Darfur Became a “Humanitarian Calamity and Catastrophic Human Rights Crisis” — Global Issues

Nearly nine million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and reports suggest that some 4,000 people have been targeted and killed because of their ethnicity.

There are now fears that Darfur could return to the years of brutal fighting and escalating atrocities witnessed two decades ago that left some 300,000 people dead and millions more displaced.

So, what is happening in Darfur now? Here’s what you need to know about the conflict.

What is the historical context?

The name “Darfur” is derived from “dar fur”, which means “the land of fur” in Arabic. The Fur tribe once ruled the Islamic Sultanate of Darfur until the 1916 assassination of the last Sultan of Darfur. Today, Darfur is home to approximately 80 tribes and ethnic groups, comprising nomadic and sedentary communities.

Although tribal and ethnic conflicts are not uncommon, the situation worsened in 2003 when rebels, notably the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), took up arms against the Sudanese government, to protest against the unequal distribution of economic resources. .

This conflict pitted Sudanese government forces, supported by allied militias known as the Janjaweed, against rebel groups resisting the autocratic rule of former President Omar al-Bashir.

The result was a devastating toll for Darfur. Some 300,000 people have lost their lives and millions have been displaced, including 400,000 refugees forced to flee to camps in neighboring Chad.

In response to these atrocities, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for several senior Sudanese officials, including Omar al-Bashirfor crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.

Is history repeating itself in Darfur?

Although Darfur has seen intermittent periods of reduced violence in recent years, particularly when the joint UN-African Union mission MANUIOperating in the restive region, the situation took a drastic turn with the outbreak of conflict in April 2023 between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese armed forces.

Address the Security Council In November, Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, the UN assistant secretary-general for Africa, said hostilities had “escalated” and that Sudan was “facing the convergence of a humanitarian calamity that a worsening and catastrophic human rights crisis.

The escalation of violence in Sudan’s Darfur region has raised fears that atrocities committed two decades ago could be repeated.

UNHCRalarm expressed following reports of persistent sexual violence, torture, arbitrary killings, extortion of civilians and targeting of specific ethnic groups.

In West Darfur, hundreds died in ethnically motivated attacks carried out by RSF and allied militias, according to the UN human rights chief.

“Such developments echo a horrific past that must not be repeated,” said Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, highlighting “months of futile suffering, death, loss and of destruction.”

In July, the prosecutor of the International Penal Court (CPI) launched an investigation on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the region, following the discovery of mass graves of some 87 members of the Masalit ethnic community, allegedly killed by the RSF and affiliated militias.

Do the people of Darfur receive aid from the UN?

In the past, the United Nations had a strong presence in Darfur through UNAMIDwhat was established speak security Council in July 2007. Its mandate included, among other things, the protection of civilians and the facilitation of the delivery of humanitarian aid by the UN and other humanitarian organizations.

UNAMID ended its operations on December 31, 2020, and the Sudanese government took responsibility for protecting civilians throughout the region. He followed an important step Peace agreement concluded between the Sudanese authorities and two armed groups in Darfur.

A United Nations political mission known as UNITAMS was then established to support Sudan for an initial 12-month period during its political transition to democratic rule. This support included the establishment of the Permanent Ceasefire Commission (PCC), essential to implementing the Darfur portion of the October 2020 Juba Peace Agreement and preventing a resurgence of the conflict politics in Darfur.

In December 2023, the UN Security Council decided to end the mandate of UNITAMS and begin winding down its operations over a three-month period scheduled to end on February 29, 2024.

Worryingly, the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office recently received credible reports of at least 13 mass graves in El Geneina, West Darfur, and its surrounding areas. surrounding areas, following attacks by the RSF and Arab militias against civilians. The majority of these civilians come from the Massalit community. These acts, if verified, could constitute war crimes.

But what about now?

The UN says it is particularly concerned about the situation in Darfur, where babies are dying in hospitals, children and mothers are suffering from severe malnutrition and camps for displaced people have been burned to the ground.

The UN’s Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee told the Security Council that “sexual and gender-based violence continues, with accusations of sexual violence by Rapid Support Force personnel, as well as rape.” and sexual harassment involving the Sudanese armed forces.

Is help being delivered?

United Nations humanitarian agencies left Darfur when conflict broke out in April 2023 and many of their facilities were looted or destroyed. Some have returned occasionally to provide humanitarian aid when the security situation allows.

In November, UN partners were able to reach Central Darfur State on a five-day road convoy, carrying medical supplies from Kosti, White Nile State, for the first time times since the fighting began.

And the United Nations Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported the arrival of the first cross-border relief supplies intended to help 185,000 people from Chad in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.

Many aid workers have been killed in Darfur, while others work in extremely difficult conditions to help civilians.

OCHA says Sudan represents the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, but the response plan is only 33 percent funded. The humanitarian office said that without more support, “thousands of people will die.”