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CIAO DATE: 11/5/2006
A Chronology of International Failures on Darfur (April 2005 - June 2006)
June 2006
Introduction
The people of Darfur have faced more than three years of government-sponsored genocide. As the death toll continues to rise and violence continues to be tragically commonplace, the U.S. and the international community are still failing to mount a real response to this genocide. The following chronology shows that, despite another year’s worth of official statements and promises, the crisis in Darfur continues and still demands urgent international action.
Throughout the Darfur crisis, the involvement of the international community has centered to a large degree on much-anticipated “turning points” or “key moments.” Time and again, U.S. and international officials have delivered assurances of their commitment to addressing this crisis, and have forecast that peace is nearly at hand. However, these claims have consistently been contradicted by reports of government obstruction of humanitarian operations, continued attacks against civilians and dwindling aid supplies. Moreover, such statements have only served to delay the real action needed to counter the ongoing genocide: the deployment of a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission with a mandate to protect civilians under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
This chronology lays out numerous examples of the gap between the rhetoric of U.S. and international policymakers on Darfur, and their actions on this crisis. For instance, on May 28, 2005, ahead of his trip to Rwanda and Sudan, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick expressed confidence that the government of Sudan was “working hard” for a political solution for Darfur (reported in AFP). Nevertheless, on May 30, 2005, the African Union (AU) reported telling new evidence, including photographs, of the involvement of Sudanese government forces and the Janjaweed in the continuing murder and rape of civilians in Darfur (reported in The Scotsman). Another example: In October 2005, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer postulated that a peace agreement might be reached by the end of the year. A partial peace deal was not reached until May 2006.
Even in the wake of recent developments, particularly the signing by the Sudanese government and one of the main rebel groups of a peace deal in Abuja, Nigeria on May 5, 2006, international efforts continue to lack urgency and focus. While a Sudanese government spokesperson, Abdulrahman Zuma, claimed at the time of the signing that the Sudanese government had “no reservation whatsoever” about UN involvement in Darfur (reported in LA Times, Sudan Tribune), subsequent statements from the government of Sudan instead demonstrate on-going opposition to a UN mission in Darfur.
On May 23, 2006, a report from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan demonstrated that government restrictions on humanitarian aid to rebel-controlled areas had “prevented the access of civilians to vital goods and constituted a violation of international humanitarian law.” (reported in Sudan Tribune).
These and other such chronology entries show the failure of the U.S. and the international community to respond with urgency and with specific actions to stop the genocide in Darfur. This document shows perpetual stalling on the part of the government of Sudan and the lack of effective action in response from major world powers.
