BACKGROUNDER: African Union’s efforts to end Sudan’s Darfur crisis
NAIROBI, Nov 17, 2004 (Xinhua) — The United National Security Council will begin a two-day extraordinary session here on Thursday to push Sudan’s north-south peace negotiations to a conclusion and to stop a separate bloody conflict in western Darfur region.
As Africa’s biggest country, Sudan was annoyed by Darfur crisis in recent two years.
The restive region has plunged into conflict since February 2003, when two rebel forces took up arms against the Khartoum government, accusing the authorities of not protecting them from the attacks of “Janjaweed” militia and demanding autonomy.
The Darfur crisis has been termed by the United Nations as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, in which thousands were killed and one million displaced.
The crisis is considered as a test for the African Union’s commitment to security and peace, an issue which bugs the impoverished continent for decades.
The African Union has spearheaded international attempts to resolve the crisis, under whose auspices, the Sudanese government and two rebel groups held several rounds of peace talks in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and Nigerian capital Abuja.
On April 8, under intensive international mediation efforts, mainly AU efforts, the Sudanese government reached a ceasefire agreement with two rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM). And the AU also deployed 123 military observers to oversee the ceasefire. However, the accord has not been implemented in earnest, with more civilians killed.
On July 5, the AU Peace and Security Council, the regional bloc ‘s security body similar to the UN Security Council, decided to send 300 armed soldiers in the name of “protection forces” to guard the AU observers already on ground in Darfur.
On July 15, the Sudanese government, JEM and SLM began a round of political talks in Addis Ababa, which was chaired by the AU, the United Nations and Chad, with the United States and European Union attending as observers.
The AU sent its Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare to Chad in a sit down with the Sudanese sides just before early July’s Addis Ababa summit, which booked the talks.
Unfortunately, the talks concluded without breakthrough on July 17 after the two rebel groups refused direct political negotiations with Khartoum unless their demands are met.
The rebel groups laid down six conditions in the talks, of which, the “removal of government troops and Janjaweed militia from Darfur, including those who are integrated into the police or other government offices” was the top priority to be addressed in the meeting.
The other conditions are access for an international inquiry into genocide charges, bringing criminals who committed genocide or ethnic cleansing to justice, creating unimpeded humanitarian access for delivery of food aid, release of prisoners of war and detainees and agreement on a neutral venue for future talks.
However, Khartoum said the conditions are “unpractical,” especially disarming of militias, because some militia groups are illegal and underground and the government needs time to address the issue.
On Aug. 1, AU Chairman Olusegun Obasanjo said the security and humanitarian crisis in Darfur should be resolved within African framework.
Obasanjo, also the president of Nigeria, told reporters in Khartoum that the Darfur crisis is a domestic issue of an AU member state. Compared with other international organizations, the AU is in a better position to find out situation there accurately and objectively. It also knows the way to an objective solution to the problem.
Obasanjo’s remarks came barely two days after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution, threatening sanctions against Sudan if it fails to disarm the marauding militia in the Darfur region and to prosecute its leaders.
Political dialogue on the Darfur crisis resumed on Aug. 23 in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, which is another effort by the African Union to help bring about a political solution to the region’s conflict. The Abuja meeting comes a week before the UN Security Council deadline.
However, hopes of ending the Darfur crisis went aground on Sept. 15 as one of the two rebel groups announced the collapse of the talks. The JEM said they failed to reach any consensus with Khartoum over security issues and the talks could be held off for a month.
Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi, Sudanese President Hassan Ahmed Al-Bashir, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Chadian President Idriss Deby held an African mini-summit on the Darfur issue on Oct. 17 in Libyan capital Tripoli.
The summit, held under the auspices of the African Union, was aimed at finding humanitarian and political solutions to the Darfur crisis within the AU framework. The five leaders rejected any foreign intervention in the Darfur issue.
On Oct. 20, the AU Peace and Security Council approved the increase in the size of its force in Darfur from 390 to 3,320 troops and civilian police.
On Oct. 26, the African Union relaunched peace talks between Khartoum and rebel groups in Abuja, which is another effort by the AU to solve African problems by Africans.
The hope for peace in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region brightened on Nov. 9 as the parties in the 21-month-old crisis signed humanitarian and security protocols together, three weeks into the African Union-sponsored peace talks in Nigeria. The talks were adjourned on Nov. 10.