UK lawmakers call for new approach to Sudan
January 9, 2009 (LONDON) – A group of United Kingdom MPs called for a new international approach to preserving Sudan’s fragile peace agreement of 2005 while some estimate that the focus on Darfur has hindered its implementation.
A cross-party group of parliamentarians plans to table a motion on January 12 which “asserts that Sudan policy is currently incoherent and contradictory.”
The Associate Parliamentary Group on Sudan was formed in 1998 in response to concerns raised by Sudanese diaspora groups and is based in Westminster with a membership of over 100 British MPs and Peers across political parties.
Though support generally remains strong for Sudan’s largest former liberation movement, the SPLM, some Western diplomats blame the southern ruling party for not making enough of an effort to help bring a peace settlement to the six year Darfur conflict.
And while the Darfur advocacy constituency is not as strong in the UK as it is in the United States, aid groups with a particular stake in Sudan’s 2005 peace deal are now as vocal about the precariousness of the north-south agreement, which ended bloody a 21-year war.
Moreover, they are taking account of the national scope of the Darfur crisis, tying it to the southern-focused agenda.
The Chairman of the Associate Parliamentary Group on Sudan, David Drew, said “a new strategy is required to draw together Darfur, the South, the transitional areas, as well as the far North and the East. To date, international engagement has mirrored the Government of Sudan’s division of the country, and this must change.”
Viewing the political situation in Sudan as having reached a potential crisis point, British policy-makers are reconsidering unconditional backing to the near hallowed Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which might not survive the gathering storm.
Despite the end of the north-south conflict, the agreement has failed to reconcile deep political fissures within the north of Sudan, as evidenced by the armed uprising in Darfur. The tipping point could be the International Criminal Court indictment of Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir on charges including war crimes, genocide and murder, according to some but not all experts. Another key contest in the country is the preparations for elections due in July 2009, which appear unlikely to occur during that time, the height of the rainy season in the south.
“The CPA is an imperfect agreement but it remains the bulwark of hopes for peace and transformation in Sudan,” said MP John Berco. “Civil society actors and regions such as Darfur and the East are not included. Securing peace in Darfur and fair competitive elections, due for 2009, are central processes for inclusion – the international community must work tirelessly to address all the obstacles facing these objectives but time is running out.”
UK lawmakers are therefore urging a new, stronger, multilateral approach. “Four years on from the signing of the CPA, the international community needs to engage urgently and thoughtfully with a new and multilateral approach to Sudan. The costs of renewed fighting do not bear thinking about,” said Drew in a statement to the press.
The statements coincide with the release of a new report by the think-tank Chatham House, authored by historian Eddie Thomas.
“For some the peace penalties are outweighing the peace dividends with much of the south still in a state of humanitarian crisis. Human suffering aside the resulting loss of faith in the peace process is also extremely damaging to the prospects for peace,” said MP Susan Kramer.
(ST)