Civil society groups urge AU to adopt comprehensive peace approach for Sudan
May 22, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – A coalition of more than 120 civil society organisations from across Africa and the Middle East on Wednesday issued a stark warning about the conflict in Sudan, calling on the African Union (AU) to “make history” by supporting a new comprehensive approach to peace.
The comments come as African leaders will gather in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Saturday 25 May to mark the 50th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the 10th anniversary of the African Union (AU).
The celebrations of the Golden Jubilee will be followed by the 21st ordinary summit of the AU on Sunday. It will be held under the theme, ‘Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance’.
Some 75 heads of state and government and 450 journalists from Africa and beyond are believed to be attending the summit.
“This week our leaders will gather to celebrate 50 years of African unity and we celebrate with them in recognising the significance and success so far of pan-Africanism. However, whilst we mark such progress, the situation in Sudan is deteriorating at an alarming rate”, the statement said.
“We call on the AU to use this anniversary not just to mark but to make history by supporting a new, bolder and comprehensive approach to Sudan’s conflicts”, it added.
A comprehensive peace process to end the ongoing conflicts in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile has so far been rejected by the Sudanese government, AU and the international community.
“We need to tackle the fundamental drivers of the country’s multiple conflicts and acknowledge that the many groups taking up arms against the government share common grievances that demand a common approach”, the coalition said in a statement.
Albaqir Mukhtar, director of the Al Khatim Adlan Centre for Enlightenment and Human Development (KACE), said although the AU has had a number of successes in its advocacy work on African issues over the past 10 years, a lasting solution for instability in Sudan has remained elusive.
“African leaders must meet this challenge by stepping up and being resolute in efforts to achieve a comprehensive political solution for peace”, he said.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), some 4.4 million people in Sudan are affected by conflict, with the situation deteriorating at an alarming rate as violence escalates in Darfur, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile.
In recent weeks, the conflict has edged closer to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, with Darfur rebels attacking a major town in North Kordofan in the context of an increasing alliance between rebel movements.
UN agencies say millions of people have been displaced by the conflicts and are dependent on food aid or living in ‘temporary’ camps.
Coalition signatories also say the recent assassination of Dinka Ngok tribal Kuol Deng Kuol in the disputed territory of Abyei could potentially shatter the fragile peace between Sudan and South Sudan.
In Darfur, where major armed conflict erupted 10 years ago, hundreds of thousands of people continue to live in a cycle of war, displacement and poverty.
Haggag Nayel, secretary-general of the Arab Coalition for Darfur, says some 100,000 people were displaced by fighting in the six weeks up to 5 May, adding that he situation is as bad as 2007 when the conflict was thought to be at its height.
“Far from ending, the violence in this region is increasing and fuelling further insecurity across the country”, he said.
Meanwhile, co-chair of the Sudan Consortium, Dismas Nkunda, said the horrors of Darfur are increasingly being replicated in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, with aerial bombardments and ground fighting severely affecting over one million people, of which 700,000 are blocked from receiving international aid.
“The AU must do all it can to halt this terrible crisis and adopt a unified approach to prevent the country’s conflicts from worsening further,” she said.
The OAU was founded on May 25, 1963 in Addis Ababa as a way to promote the unity and solidarity of African states. It was later transmuted into the AU in July 2000.
(ST)