Chinese Peacekeepers training for deployment with UNAMID.
About half way through they demonstrate their willingness to lay down their lives in the completion of their mission, oh.. no actually, news just in, they are demonstrating the approved response to opposition from the government of Sudan.
Tuesday, 25 September 2007
Thursday, 20 September 2007
Darfur from Humanitarianism to Development
My experience is that the reluctance of international efforts to shift from humanitarian rhetoric to developmental or to provide substantial support to political processes is closely associated with institutional competition between INGO and the bilateral/multilateral agencies. Part of the problem is that the most influential actors on Darfur within Western polities are INGOs. With popular support mobilised through emotive advocacy campaigns these organisations are able to inflict real political costs on democratic politicians. The problem is that INGOs are effectively tied to humanitarian work, lacking the political mandates and the resources to effectively support a political process or become deeply involved in developmental planning.
As a result, their work, although essential and highly effective, restricts the majority of their advocacy within Western countries to emergency relief or crisis intervention. Using Durkhiem's distinction between profane and the sacred, these campaigns thus portray the political work of conflict resolution as profane, rather than the sacred purity of humanitarian action. This emphasis is in turn is passed on, through the capitals of donor countries, to set the priorities for embassies and international agencies.
The substantial problem here, however, lies in international institutions – the UN and the World Bank are frequently, unwilling or unable to make strong, public cases for the support for political processes. Instead of leading on issues, they often follow - despite their vast budgets often receiving good analysis.
Beyond Darfur the most important example of such an issue is the upcoming elections in 2009. At present, no single agency or NGO, with the exception of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (I have no affiliation) and the British Embassy (again no affiliation), are taking an effective lead on preparing for these elections. The first since 1986, it is estimated that 60% of the population has never voted before and I have frequently encountered basic misconceptions on the nature of democracy/elections within Sudan. Most disturbingly, the perception that elections are purely conflict resolution mechanisms between parties – with no real appreciation of the secondary functions of democracy such as protection of minority rights and checks and balances. As a result, the risk of violent conflict, within the centre of Sudan around the elections is growing, with very few international actors prepared to act in any way to reduce this likelihood.
The largest failure here is UNMIS – who consistently refers to its mandate to legitimize its failure to address elections effectively. This failure is a perfect example of why a UN force in Darfur, regardless of composition, is unlikely to be able to improve the situation, as like UNMIS it will lack political will to effectively address political problems. Instead it will adopt humanitarian functions that allow it to be well portrayed in the international media, whilst neglecting the messy, profane and essential work of political activism.
As a result, their work, although essential and highly effective, restricts the majority of their advocacy within Western countries to emergency relief or crisis intervention. Using Durkhiem's distinction between profane and the sacred, these campaigns thus portray the political work of conflict resolution as profane, rather than the sacred purity of humanitarian action. This emphasis is in turn is passed on, through the capitals of donor countries, to set the priorities for embassies and international agencies.
The substantial problem here, however, lies in international institutions – the UN and the World Bank are frequently, unwilling or unable to make strong, public cases for the support for political processes. Instead of leading on issues, they often follow - despite their vast budgets often receiving good analysis.
Beyond Darfur the most important example of such an issue is the upcoming elections in 2009. At present, no single agency or NGO, with the exception of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (I have no affiliation) and the British Embassy (again no affiliation), are taking an effective lead on preparing for these elections. The first since 1986, it is estimated that 60% of the population has never voted before and I have frequently encountered basic misconceptions on the nature of democracy/elections within Sudan. Most disturbingly, the perception that elections are purely conflict resolution mechanisms between parties – with no real appreciation of the secondary functions of democracy such as protection of minority rights and checks and balances. As a result, the risk of violent conflict, within the centre of Sudan around the elections is growing, with very few international actors prepared to act in any way to reduce this likelihood.
The largest failure here is UNMIS – who consistently refers to its mandate to legitimize its failure to address elections effectively. This failure is a perfect example of why a UN force in Darfur, regardless of composition, is unlikely to be able to improve the situation, as like UNMIS it will lack political will to effectively address political problems. Instead it will adopt humanitarian functions that allow it to be well portrayed in the international media, whilst neglecting the messy, profane and essential work of political activism.
Thursday, 13 September 2007
Darfur II
As has been said for years, Darfur is a symptom not a cause of a deeper crisis. Here we have a presentation of the problems that are emerging in the north.
"Tensions have been high here since soldiers opened fire on an anti-government protest of 5,000 Nubians in June, killing four young men and wounding nearly two dozen. The government has arrested nearly three dozen Nubian leaders and four journalists who were trying to cover the violence.Now a recently formed rebel group, calling itself the Kush Liberation Front, is advocating armed resistance to overthrow the central government, which it accuses of oppressing Nubians and other indigenous peoples in Sudan."Our efforts will not succeed unless they are backed by military action," said Abdelwahab Adem, a Nubian former businessman and co-founder of the Kush Liberation Front. "We need to get rid of the Arabs. Our goal is to realize a new Sudan, by force if necessary."Adem said the new movement would rely on "guerrilla fighting," targeting the capital, Khartoum, and other major Sudanese cities. He declined to specify what sort of tactics might be used or how many fighters the group has."
This is all taking place thousands of kilometres away from Darfur. Whilst diplomats nod their heads, they are unable to convince politicians back in London, New York or Beijing, to invest political capital in lobbying for medium-term reform of the central government.
"Tensions have been high here since soldiers opened fire on an anti-government protest of 5,000 Nubians in June, killing four young men and wounding nearly two dozen. The government has arrested nearly three dozen Nubian leaders and four journalists who were trying to cover the violence.Now a recently formed rebel group, calling itself the Kush Liberation Front, is advocating armed resistance to overthrow the central government, which it accuses of oppressing Nubians and other indigenous peoples in Sudan."Our efforts will not succeed unless they are backed by military action," said Abdelwahab Adem, a Nubian former businessman and co-founder of the Kush Liberation Front. "We need to get rid of the Arabs. Our goal is to realize a new Sudan, by force if necessary."Adem said the new movement would rely on "guerrilla fighting," targeting the capital, Khartoum, and other major Sudanese cities. He declined to specify what sort of tactics might be used or how many fighters the group has."
This is all taking place thousands of kilometres away from Darfur. Whilst diplomats nod their heads, they are unable to convince politicians back in London, New York or Beijing, to invest political capital in lobbying for medium-term reform of the central government.
Sunday, 9 September 2007
Interview with Hassan al-Turabi, September 3rd 2007.
Al-Jazeera interview with Dr. Hassan al-Turabi, the leader of Sudan's most influential Islamist movement and Speaker of Parliament until 2001. Turabi appears to find events in Darfur hilarious. "The government did not order them to commit genocide, but [chuckling] they are wild people." He also shows some remarkable compassion for the hardships of hybrid force. God forbid that they get too hot. "We don't need to exert on humanity to bring in their soldiers, into to a different country, and a different climate, and to die for us."
Mahmoud Mamdani, Blue Hatting Darfur
Uganda's Columbia University Professor is back again with another broadside on the international community's efforts in Darfur.
"‘The AU has become part of the conflict,’ Mohamed Saley, the leader of the JEM splinter group that allegedly abducted the AMIS patrol in October 2005, told Reuters at the time. ‘We want the AU to leave and we have warned them not to travel to our areas.’ Trying to keep the peace in the absence of a peace agreement made the AU ‘part of the conflict’. There is no reason to believe that the fate of the UN will be any different. To strengthen the mandate in the absence of a political agreement is more likely to deepen than to solve the dilemma. To enforce the ceasefire will mean taking on the role of an invading – and not a peacekeeping – force. Darfur, which is a bit smaller than France – and larger than Iraq – will surely require a force of more than the 26,000 currently planned by the UN."
And more specifically on my favoured theme, the inclusion of Sudanese institutions in the relief effort:
"Local voluntary organisations were critical of the growing dependency of IDPs on international NGOs. The representative from El Fasher Call made the point with some bitterness: ‘IDPs are trying to endear themselves to international NGOs but don’t want to deal with national NGOs.’ ‘IDPs don’t believe in anything Sudanese any more,’ a representative from a Fur charity added. One participant from a construction NGO observed that the war had made people adopt a ‘consumer mentality’. The disaffection with INGOs was shared by all local voluntary organisations, regardless of their ethnic affiliation or political inclination. ‘National NGOs lack the capacity to provide necessary services,’ a representative of Sudan Development Organisation explained, not least because they are excluded by INGOs: ‘They make no attempt to acknowledge that we know the ground better, and also the demands of the people. No wonder most national NGOs have been rejected by the IDPs. If international NGOs gave us a chance, people might appreciate us more.’"
Full article available here, http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/43158
"‘The AU has become part of the conflict,’ Mohamed Saley, the leader of the JEM splinter group that allegedly abducted the AMIS patrol in October 2005, told Reuters at the time. ‘We want the AU to leave and we have warned them not to travel to our areas.’ Trying to keep the peace in the absence of a peace agreement made the AU ‘part of the conflict’. There is no reason to believe that the fate of the UN will be any different. To strengthen the mandate in the absence of a political agreement is more likely to deepen than to solve the dilemma. To enforce the ceasefire will mean taking on the role of an invading – and not a peacekeeping – force. Darfur, which is a bit smaller than France – and larger than Iraq – will surely require a force of more than the 26,000 currently planned by the UN."
And more specifically on my favoured theme, the inclusion of Sudanese institutions in the relief effort:
"Local voluntary organisations were critical of the growing dependency of IDPs on international NGOs. The representative from El Fasher Call made the point with some bitterness: ‘IDPs are trying to endear themselves to international NGOs but don’t want to deal with national NGOs.’ ‘IDPs don’t believe in anything Sudanese any more,’ a representative from a Fur charity added. One participant from a construction NGO observed that the war had made people adopt a ‘consumer mentality’. The disaffection with INGOs was shared by all local voluntary organisations, regardless of their ethnic affiliation or political inclination. ‘National NGOs lack the capacity to provide necessary services,’ a representative of Sudan Development Organisation explained, not least because they are excluded by INGOs: ‘They make no attempt to acknowledge that we know the ground better, and also the demands of the people. No wonder most national NGOs have been rejected by the IDPs. If international NGOs gave us a chance, people might appreciate us more.’"
Full article available here, http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/43158
Wednesday, 16 May 2007
Darfur in the Arab Press
This is an interesting topic that receives scant attention from Western advocates or audiences
Darfur in the Arab Press
http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA35107
"The ongoing massacre in Darfur, which has been raging since 2003, receives scant coverage in most of the Arab media. The few articles that appear on the subject generally minimize the importance of reports on the ethnic cleansing in the region, [1] and most of them characterize the international efforts to stop the bloodshed in Darfur as a Western, American, or Zionist plot aimed at seizing the country's natural resources. [2] Furthermore, the extensive coverage of Darfur in the Western media is portrayed in these articles as an attempt to divert the attention of international opinion from events in Iraq, the Palestinian Authority, and Somalia.
Nonetheless, on occasion some sharply critical articles are published which condemn the Arab media's indifference to the events in Darfur. [3] These articles urge the Arab countries to drop the conspiracy theories and support the international community's efforts to stop the bloodshed in the region."
Darfur in the Arab Press
http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA35107
"The ongoing massacre in Darfur, which has been raging since 2003, receives scant coverage in most of the Arab media. The few articles that appear on the subject generally minimize the importance of reports on the ethnic cleansing in the region, [1] and most of them characterize the international efforts to stop the bloodshed in Darfur as a Western, American, or Zionist plot aimed at seizing the country's natural resources. [2] Furthermore, the extensive coverage of Darfur in the Western media is portrayed in these articles as an attempt to divert the attention of international opinion from events in Iraq, the Palestinian Authority, and Somalia.
Nonetheless, on occasion some sharply critical articles are published which condemn the Arab media's indifference to the events in Darfur. [3] These articles urge the Arab countries to drop the conspiracy theories and support the international community's efforts to stop the bloodshed in the region."
Palestinian Cartoon
Palestinian Cartoon
On right: "Nakba of 1948." On left: "Nakba of 2007."
Above and underneath rifle on left: "[Security] Anarchy" and "Internal Fighting."
Source: Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Palestinian Authority, May 15, 2007
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