Obama Administration Must Tackle Tough Issues About Sudan at U.N. Gathering

• Support existing multilateral mechanisms: The U.S. was one of the so-called Guarantors to the CPA when it was signed in 2005, along with the U.K., Norway, Netherlands, Egypt, Italy, and the following institutions: African Union (A.U.), European Union (E.U.), Arab League, and the U.N. President Obama should now mobilize this group of international actors to help ensure the CPA is implemented and to avoid a return to violence, including by supporting existing multilateral mechanisms such as the A.U.-U.N. Consultative Forum and the A.U. High-Level Implementation Panel for Sudan.
• Engage key countries with leverage in Sudan: While broad international engagement on Sudan is needed at this moment, there are certain countries with strong ties to the Government of Sudan and therefore with particular leverage that the U.S. should seek to enlist. China’s role as a major economic partner of Khartoum and as a significant source of arms flows to the Sudanese government throughout its campaign of atrocities in Darfur warrants particular attention. President Obama should encourage China to use its relationship to help pave the way for smooth referenda and for a peaceful outcome to those votes. Not only China but also other countries such as Russia, Chad, and the UAE, which have been sources or transit points for military materials and other critical goods and services that have helped sustain the capacity of armed forces to commit atrocities in Darfur, should be urged by the U.S. to act as constructive stakeholders and avoid enabling atrocities anywhere in Sudan.
• Don’t forget Darfur: International attention has shifted to focus on Southern Sudan as the referenda approach, but insecurity continues to plague the western region of Darfur, and persistent violence against civilians there should remain a concern for U.S. policy makers. Next month, the final report of the U.N. Panel of Experts on Sudan is expected to reveal serious violations of the arms embargo on Darfur, just as its predecessor panels concluded in their reports over the past several years. The failure of third parties to comply with these U.N. sanctions in Darfur and the failure of the U.N. Security Council to take new measures to enforce the embargo have contributed to the ongoing atrocities in that region. The U.S. should carefully review the Panel’s report and recommendations next month, and action on that front should be one of several ways in which the U.S. shows a concrete commitment to Darfur and to a holistic approach that address all flashpoints in Sudan at present.
• Make clear that a return to north-south violence is not an option: President Obama should send a clear message to the parties to the CPA and to others that resorting to violence in the run-up to—or the aftermath of—the referenda is not an option. All parties in Sudan, and all third parties with ties to that country, should be put on notice that the U.S. and the international community are committed to avoiding violence against civilians, are prepared to act to prevent it, and will levy consequences on any who plan or perpetrate it.
• Be prepared for risks of mass atrocities against civilians in Southern Sudan: Even as the Obama administration focuses on ensuring smooth preparations for the referenda, it should remain alert to the potential for a recurrence of violence around or after those critical votes. Given Sudan’s history of government-sponsored atrocities against civilians, the U.S. should keep a watchful eye for early warning signs of plans for violence targeting civilian populations, and should be prepared for that worst case scenario. Part of its contingency planning should include support for the preventive deployment of peacekeepers from UNMIS to flashpoint areas to monitor the situation and deter localized violence. Another critical part of preparedness and prevention efforts should include the use of intelligence assets to track the flow of arms, ammunition, and other goods and services to those who may be engaged in planning or committing atrocities in the coming months. With Sudan’s history of mass atrocities, the past may offer a prologue; previous patterns and perpetrators, as well as potential third-party enablers, deserve special attention at this fragile time.

For more information about Human Rights First’s work on Sudan and its ongoing work to hold accountable the enablers of atrocities, please visit http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/cahp/index.aspx.