Sudan’s war spurs community-led aid solutions

by Hamdan Goumaa

 Beyond diplomatic and outcry of the civil society and other voices to stop the war, at least for the reason of allowing in-kind aid to reach people in need, there are alternative methods of dealing with the situation to free the issue from the hands of the generals. This includes benefiting from community-based initiatives and local organizations that extend help to IDPs. Contextual analysis of the far-to-reach regions suggests that the most relevant- especially in the case of Darfur and Kordofan- is the voucher system and cash transfer adopted by the( WFP) and other NGOs as uncostly methods of providing humanitarian aid vis a vis the in-kind. Examples of cross-border operations are also possible scenarios, as the experience tells us. It is pivotal to consider the potential role of emergency humanitarian assistance in future endeavours for peacebuilding before guns are silent and both can work simultaneously. The proposed alternatives are achievable by putting aside and allocating some of the transfer funds to increase local NGOs’ capacity to engage and train women and community leaders on peace issues. Lifeline Sudan(OLS) is a case in point and currently cross-border operations from Chad to Darfur. Another community structure is the peace markets, which started during the civil war between the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLA) and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF). The Peace Markets were formed to cater to the needs of both SPLA and the nomadic communities. The Nomads continue to cross the border between South Sudan and Sudan. The fact that some markets are still functioning, in addition to the spread of Starlink’s high-speed internet services, constitutes the appropriate infrastructure for money transfers and E-vouchers. The case of how local communities in West Kordofan State organize and deliver assistance to (IDPs), who fled the war after RSF attacked the small town of Babanousa, shows how effectively local communities can respond to emergency relief assistance.

This paper suggests new pathways, alternative strategies, and measures to enable the flow of humanitarian aid to Sudanese IDPs and others in need. The paper is based on my personal experience as a development and conflict resolution practitioner, as well as referring in my search to sources on the subject. It argues that the international community’s attempts for humanitarian assistance to reach internally displaced persons ( IDPs) placed more efforts into solutions that rely almost exclusively on diplomacy to bring the generals to agree on a ceasefire.

Other opportunities are available besides the current approach, which appears futile. The negotiations and pressure to get the warring parties to a ceasefire can encourage the generals and put the issue of delivering humanitarian aid into their hands, thus turning it into a weapon of war. Therefore, the international community needs to shift to other solutions, moving away from in-kind aid to cash transfers and e-vouchers, which have proved to be workable in complex, protracted wars, such as in Sudan.

The situation

According to OCHA, starting April 15, 2023, when the war broke out, “the number of displaced continues to increase”. It is estimated that 9.05 million internally displaced, representing 13% of the total IDP number globally, who during this war lost everything, a fact that threatens their lives and may result in a catastrophe. Despite these alarming conditions, the Sudan IDPs are going through unprecedented suffering in the absence of aid agencies and NGOs due to war and concerns for staff safety.

Most agricultural production areas cannot survive the farming season, including the winter season for wheat production, causing Sudan to be highly prone to famine. The Crisis Group stated in a report, “Farming and other livelihoods have ground to a halt. The result is a decimation of Sudan’s domestic food production”. This situation is especially true of remote states such as Darfur and Kordofan, which are on the verge of hunger. West Kordofan remains the most susceptible to famine compared to any other part of the country. The Messeriya land is the country’s most marginalized area, with no infrastructure, reliable health facilities, education, roads, or sufficient water sources. Nomadism is still the primary source of livelihood, and it is usually open to diseases, restricted mobility, inter-tribal wars, and devastation by desertification, as well as environmental degradation, all of which contribute to the population’s impoverishment. “The oil production story in West Kordofan, – in the words of investigative journalism- (InfoNile), reveals the dark side of the oil industry, particularly for local people in Sudan’s West Kordofan State, from increased droughts and dying animals to strange health conditions for the people and animals.” It is within this context the war took place, leaving the already poverty-stricken population with nothing to resort to but flee on foot for their lives. The recent news from the area reveals a situation whereby the cattle market witnessed a sharp decline, and many returned with unsold animals, indicating early signs of famine. The conditions of the IDPs in this area will worsen as the rainy season approaches, which is usually a time of food shortage. Consequently, there will be a famine that kills, in the words of Alex de Waal, and the eating of wild food such as tree leaves has already come into the scene. Annette Hoffman of Clingendael Institute, in a policy paper, mentioned, “According to the most likely scenario, seven million people will face catastrophic levels of hunger by June 2024 (IPC5) with mass starvation being the prospect.” She continued to recommend the declaration of famine in Sudan.

Many humanitarian practitioners find it unfathomable that the international community has failed to find ways and measures to deliver aid. The UN and other humanitarian organizations still need to develop alternative plans for providing assistance, taking advantage of previous experiences and building on them to devise new plans to help the displaced people in areas such as Darfur, Kordofan, and Blue Nile. For example, a lifeline during Sudan’s Second Civil War, Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS), implemented by the international community took place in the presence of an existing government due to pressure from the international community. The current situation in which the country lacks a functioning state authority on the whole country may free the international community from any legal restrictions related to state sovereignty; thus, a lifeline is potentially applicable.

The centre of attention the international community pays is to convincing warring sides to agree on a ceasefire and pave the way for aid to reach Sudan. The efforts by the international community show an exclusive focus on diplomatic approaches to stop the war or at least a short truce to create safe paths that ensure the smooth flow of relief by the two belligerents. In an updated report a year after the war started on April 15, 2023, the Crisis group stated, “The U.S., UN, and African Union have revitalized their diplomacy by appointing new envoys, but collective efforts to foster peace still lack coherence and urgency.”

Contrary to exploring and considering alternative pathways for aid assistance, more efforts are put in by international players that ultimately rely on track-one diplomacy. This situation encouraged the generals and placed the issue of extending humanitarian aid into their hands. Sudan Tribune reported that General Burhan, while addressing Brigade 19 in Al-Daba on February 11, 2024, in North Sudan, declared that “he would not allow aid to reach civilians in areas under the control of RSF.”

On the other hand, Hemetti called upon the international community to urgently deal with the “profound humanitarian crisis” coming from the belief that the issue lies within his authority. In Sudan, a year war report by Crisis Group quotes, “The UN reports that 18 million people, more than one-third of the population, face acute food insecurity. Both warring parties have hindered humanitarian efforts by impeding access to relief operations.” Consequently, the two generals took the issue of Sudan’s humanitarian crisis hostage and used it as a weapon of war.

Proposed pathways and potential for peacebuilding

It is, therefore, imperative for the UN and other concerned institutions to seek alternative ways. The pressure exerted by the international community to stop the violence is a necessary step in a long peace-building process. However, creating alternative pathways to deliver humanitarian aid, which is an important catalyst for injecting elements of peacebuilding early on, is pivotal. It will also enable incorporating activities geared towards reconciling an already divided Sudanese society, Contrary to the critique of humanitarianism, which reflects on the negative impact of aid in a context of protracted and violent conflict, the emerging thoughts focused on the positive impact on peacebuilding and conflict transformation, even at times of turbulence.” Maria Lange & Mick Quinn wrote that “faced with real operational dilemmas, humanitarians want to understand the potential contribution of humanitarian assistance to conflict transformation and peacebuilding”.

Thus, these efforts should deal with the issue of humanitarian aid more creatively. In the following, the proposed pathways will be discussed in detail, including highlighting in the broader sense some operational aspects:

The role of local community structures and NGOs

It is high time for the UN and international community to deal with the issue of delivering humanitarian assistance away from the warring generals and attempts to link the flow of aid to a ceasefire. Such a stand will shift the focus on the local community and build on their initiatives and activities to help each other. To cite an example following the war that broke out in the small town of Babanousa, an army base in Western Kordofan State, the youth, without any external support, including from international humanitarian organizations, banded together in a self-support initiative and formed evacuation and relief committees. They cover more than 15 sites where the IDPs escaped and reside with meagre resources at hand. Funds raised within and from Messeriya members and friends in the diaspora help in transportation to evacuate and provide essentials, including food, water, and medicine. If built on such community-based emergency response and mobilizing and supporting existing local NGOs to get involved and receive support in capacity building, the result will be a locally capable organization that delivers humanitarian assistance. Such a process will open the opportunity to incorporate activities to engage community leaders, youth, and women at the grassroots level, aiming for reconciliation and peacebuilding. John Lederach mentioned, “NGOs must also develop categories of funding and action that relate directly and deliberately to the constructive transformation of the conflict.” He suggests that INGOs can put aside some of their funds for “relief efforts” to be allocated for conflict resolution and peacebuilding initiatives in settings where their relief activities are needed because of protracted conflicts and wars.”

Peace Markets

These peace markets emerged during the civil war in Sudan from 1983-2005 due to the community’s needs on both sides, the Dinka and the nomadic Arab tribes, as well as the Sudan People Liberation Army SPLA/SPLM. Led by the SPLA/M after several agreements between the nomads of Kordofan, Darfur, and the Dinka and Nuer tribes in South Sudan, several peace markets sprung along the border belt between South and North. (This information was collected during an interview with Mahmoud Khater Goumaa, a SPLA/M general in Asmara, Eritrea 1996) According to him, these markets have been self-sustained and survived all the crises and challenges of wars in the region, constituting a practical lifeline facilitating the smooth flow of goods, medicine, and other consumer needs. Despite the turbulent situation, the markets continue to operate daily in these areas, creating an active exchange of goods and services across the border within a vibrant trade along the border zone. Accordingly, there is a lot to learn from these community-based initiatives and build on them to strengthen local capacities, creating improved delivery systems for consumer goods, medicine, and other needs.

Furthermore, the markets put in place strong bases for both the voucher and cash transfer programs; however, an updated study is required to show the current status of these markets. There is an increasing belief that a shift from delivering in-kind aid to cash and paper vouchers is necessary in complex war situations like Sudan. A whitepaper by Devex and VISA emphasizes that “as humanitarian crises have evolved over the years, so too have the means of delivering aid.” Despite the importance of the traditional methods of delivering in-kind aid, such an approach encounters formidable challenges, including operationality in a turbulent context created by the warring sides similar to what the country is currently witnessing. It suggested cash-in-hand distribution to the beneficiaries, bank transfers, and E-vouchers. All are workable if adopted, as mentioned earlier and supported to enhance and increase the capacity of the existing NGOs at the local level. Again, the peace markets, considering the extension of technology to remote areas, namely Starlink, will make programs such as money transfers and E-vouchers easy to implement. However, local NGOs will need to be trained on how to handle these programs to meet donors’ compliance requirements. In her recent policy paper, Annette Hoffman recommended: “injecting mobile cash directly to local producers, as well as to consumers and local aid providers ( Emergency Response Rooms.”). As mentioned earlier, the peace markets are the proper infrastructure for cash transfer and E-Voucher programs.

To show that the markets are well organized, all the peace agreements signed between the Nomadic tribes of South Kordofan, Darfur, and the Dinka and Nuer of Southern Sudan included standard articles. The most critical issues that are covered within these agreements are as follows:

1. Open the peace markets to exchange goods and services between the different parties in the
2. Joint protection of these Peace Markets by all parties involved in these
3. All cases of assault and murder between the parties should be settled through traditional customary laws such as the Deiya ( blood money) and other modes of reparation
4. In case of individual or tribal conflicts, all parties involved in these agreements should utilize peaceful methods of conflict resolution and ensure order and security.
5. The access to pasture lands by the Nomadic tribes of the Messariya, located within the deep south, for their livestock and other animals. Similarly, the Dinka and Nuer livestock graze as far as North Bahar-El-Ghazal and should be allowed protection from cattle raiders and other forms of aggression.

Recommendations.

The international community’s attempt to enable humanitarian assistance to reach internally displaced persons ( IDPs) has put more effort into solutions that rely almost exclusively on track-one diplomacy to enable in-kind aid delivery. Other opportunities are available besides the current approach, which seems futile. Consequently, such an approach emboldened the generals and put the issue of delivering humanitarian aid into their hands. For that matter, the two generals took the issue of Sudan’s humanitarian crisis hostage and used it as a weapon of war. It is, therefore, imperative for the UN and other concerned institutions to seek alternative ways. Two suggestions were made for the international community, and both are workable. Such arrangements are implementable quickly through cross-border operations in South Sudan and Chad and through cash transfer and E-Voucher programs. The following are the specific recommendations:

1. It is high time for the UN and international community to deal with the issue of delivering humanitarian assistance away from the warring generals and seek new pathways.
2. To depart from the current approach that relies exclusively on diplomatic engagement with SAF and RSF, both are hijacking the issue and using it as a weapon of war.
3. Other alternatives are available, namely cross-border operations, community-based voucher systems, and money transfer; this is especially the case in poverty-stricken and isolated Darfur and West Kordofan areas.
4. Engage Sudanese experts and community leaders in productive
5. discussions and consultations to reach a workable and efficient way of delivering
6. For specific states, it is urgent; if it is delayed, the world will witness a
7. A shift from the present approach, which relies exclusively on track one diplomacy, is Otherwise, the issue of delivering aid to the Sudan IDPs will remain unresolved.
8. New pathways and strategies, including cash in hand, Money transfer through the Bankak system, and E-vouchers, are available and workable.
9. It should be noted that these new strategies must include activities geared towards injecting elements of peacebuilding early on rather than the traditional continuum of relief, rehabilitation, and development.
10. Peacebuilding and conflict resolution require early attention if reconciliation and sustainable peace are attainable.

Hamdan Goumaa is a global affairs practitioner specializing in development and humanitarian efforts. He has worked for the UN and international NGOs in Africa and Southeast Asia. Currently, he serves as a consultant in development and conflict resolution. He can be reached at: [email protected]