 |
| Map |
Now and then we read about the crisis in Sudan which is a rift between two communities. Communal and ethnic conflicts have been the causes of violence and turbulence for centuries now and several nations are at war with others or internally due to ethnic or communal tensions. Similar is the case of Sudan. Today, a number of Sudanese are facing days of horror.
The questions like what has caused this communal tension, who are the propagators, and how other countries and international bodies have reacted to this situation arise. This blog discusses the Sudan crisis, providing answers to all these questions along with the extent of human rights violations occurring in Sudan.
Sudan and South Sudan
It is well known that South Sudan emerged from the country Sudan and became an independent nation on 9th July 2011, thereby, becoming the youngest country in the world.
Firstly, let's understand the reason behind the separation of the Northern Republic of Sudan and South Sudan. The Republic of Sudan gained independence on 1st January 1956 from Anglo-Egyptians, but due to communal differences between Arab Muslims on one hand and Christians and non-Arabs on the other, there was a constant source of internal fights. Sudan is located in northeast Africa, the point where the two communities (Arabs and Africans) cut through. The current South Sudanese population never identified themselves with the North and the government. This also resulted in two civil wars with the government— the first in 1955-1972 and the second in 1983-2005, leading to killings, displacements and grave human rights violations in the country. The Addis Ababa Agreement, 1972 was ratified which ended the first civil war. It aimed at setting up a structure guaranteeing the South representation in the central government. It provided social, political and linguistic autonomy to the Southern Sudanese people. However, in 1983, Jaafar Numeri who was the head of the country created a new state in the South called “Unity” which changed the structure of the South. This was done with the motive of placing the rich oil and minerals reserves of the South within the northern border, but it resulted in the infringement of Article 2 of the Addis Ababa Agreement (as it changed the structure without any Referendum from the South). Also, the Shariah decree was declared the national law of the country. This enraged the South and the Second Civil War commenced.
This time a new rebel group 'The Sudan People’s Liberation Army' ["SPLA"] was formed in the South and announced a socialist movement for the whole nation. Then came the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement ["CPA"]. Now, what is the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, 2005? Although it contained provisions similar to the Addis Ababa Agreement, it provided for more autonomy to the South. For example, it granted the South 50 per cent of the nation's resources and allowed them to maintain their armed forces. Even after this, factors such as regional discrimination and 'Arabisation', inequitable representation, weak democracy, cultural discrimination, etc. violated the CPA.
As conflict could not be solved, with regional and international support the partition occurred after the overwhelming votes in favour of secession. This led to the independence of South Sudan in 2011.
 |
| Map of South Sudan and its neighbouring countries; Source: BBC News |
Sudan's internal conflict of 2023
The present conflict is all about the clashes between two groups, namely the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF). In other words, it's a rift between General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, the RSF’s General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (also called Hemetti). These two leaders had earlier joined hands together to overthrow the regime of Omar Al-Bashar (a leader who abolished the position of Prime Minister in Sudan by overthrowing the Government of Sadiq-Al-Mahdi). The tables turned for him when the Al-Burhan and Dagalo overthrew him.
In 2019, the Transitional Sovereignty Council ["TSC"] was formed for the purpose of making the country look democratic. It formed an agreement which was to last for only 39 months in which the power was to be shared between the Sudanese military and civilians for 21 months and 18 months, respectively. The 21 months of military rule ended in November 2021.
In order to keep the power to themselves, the Al-Burhan regime along with Dagalo established a Coup d'etat. This move was highly protested against by civilian groups and was also condemned internationally. It is to be noted that until now both Al-Burhan and Dagalo worked together to continue their leadership in Sudan. Therefore, the question arises, what went wrong between the two leaders which became the cause of trouble in the country that the United Nations and other countries had to intervene? Let's understand this now.
Due to pro-democracy protests and international pressure, the leaders had to agree to sign the agreement with the civilians. This involved the integration of RSF into SAF, which ultimately became the root cause of the fight between Al-Burhan and Dagalo. RSF leader Dagalo started getting support from the Darfur region and he started representing himself as a national leader of Sudan. Also, conflict emerged in the military base south of Khartoum. The armed forces of both groups engaged in intense fights leading to massive human rights violations.
Human rights violations
The Sudanese people are getting crushed between the two groups and the constant armed conflict in the nation. All the bad consequences of an armed conflict such as lack of necessities, rapid increase in crimes against civilians, and other human rights violations are prevalent in this African region now. Violence is rampant in Khartoum, Kassala, Gedaref, etc. Sudan already hosts a large number of refugees from Tigray, Syria, Eritrea, and South Sudan and this situation has aggravated the refugees' issues, thereby leading to an enormous economic and humanitarian crisis in the African region. Owing to the fear of killings, a large number of people are fleeing to neighbouring Chad.
The violations are also influenced by ethnicity. According to the OHCHR statement dated 24th June 2023,
It was gravely concerned at reports of wanton killings by “Arab” militia in Sudan’s West Darfur backed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), primarily targeting men from the Masalit community.
International interventions
Due to the human rights violations and great turbulence in the Middle East, the United Nations, along with the countries such as the United States, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt etc. intervened to encourage negotiations between the two. The country is rich in natural resources and therefore has very strong allies, which makes it indispensable for the world to intervene.
Moreover, the level of hostilities in the country demanded the attention of the United Nations and the African Union Peace. The 53rd session of the Human Rights Council also has the Sudan issue in its Agenda item 2. The High Commissioner for Human Rights is asking the RSF leader to cease these atrocities.
OHCHR Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said,
We urge the immediate establishment of a humanitarian corridor between Chad and El-Geneina, and safe passage for civilians out of areas affected by the hostilities.
Concluding Remarks
It is evident that the fight for power and position has taken millions of lives, irrespective of the country or community. Sudan, once known to possess the world's richest oil reserves, is now grappling with great tumult and turbulence. Since its independence, the people of Sudan have faced innumerable troubles ranging from coup d'etats, changes in democratic structure, and violations of regional and international agreements to brutal incidents of violence, human rights violations, and escalating levels of displacements and the number of refugees.
The only way to end hostilities and protection of civilians is to establish peace arrangements with the help of negotiations between the two groups.
Above all, we stand with the Sudanese people, and their hopes and demands for peace, the restoration of civilian rule, and the democratic transition. ~ Secretary-General António Guterres
0 comments:
Post a Comment