Hearing the horror stories from Sudan, from refugees who have managed to escape or from some of the millions who have been forcibly displaced inside the country, one can only conclude that humanity is once again on trial. We are spectacularly failing not only the people of Sudan but also those who work in the service of peace. From what is happening now in Sudan, it is clear humanity has learned nothing from Rwanda, Kosovo and elsewhere.
The outbreak of the conflict, on 15 April, did not happen in a vacuum. The signs had been there; it was simply a matter of when, not if. While the 2019 overthrow of the country’s longtime dictator, Omar al-Bashir, after months of popular protests, had provided a reprieve to the population and brought hope for the future, the events in the aftermath of the revolution pointed to a country divided.
Elites were unwilling to give up their privileged position at the top table. They were resistant to any sense of accountability for past crimes and undermined civilian participation in the determination of the future of the country.
With signs such as these it was, therefore, optimistic to assume that anything positive would have come from those individuals who had brought Sudan to its knees and kept it there, while inflicting suffering and humiliation on Sudanese people.
It is tragic that the conflict has spread out from the capital, Khartoum, to encompass restive parts of the country, notably Darfur, which has experienced its fair share of suffering.
What is going on in Sudan should be a source of shame, a scar on our collective humanity
After the second world war, humanity came together to establish the UN charter, binding itself in the shared values of equality and dignity for humankind. The founding of the charter was premised on the need “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”. The UN security council should, and must, uphold this historic responsibility in Sudan.
While the charter bestows upon the council responsibility to maintain international peace and security, it also calls on it to act in accordance with the purpose and principles of the UN, which include respecting principles of justice and international law, promoting and encouraging respect of human rights, and cooperating in good faith to solving international problems of humanitarian character. The security council must step up and engage Sudan to stop this conflict and allow unhindered access to the region to ensure that its people can receive critical humanitarian assistance, including medicine and food.
The security council should unequivocally reaffirm to Sudan’s warring parties that those responsible for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law will be held accountable. Those who deliberately obstruct access for vital humanitarian aid or employ prohibited tactics to achieve military objectives shall be held to account either by the Sudanese people or the international community. The council should be a trusted firewall against injustice.
When Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the Sudanese army and the country’s de facto leader (Al-Burhan led a coup that ousted civilian leaders in 2021), addresses the UN general assembly on Friday, the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, should seize the opportunity to press him to put the interests of the Sudanese people above everything else.
It is urgent also to remind African leaders that the African Union, under its Constitutive Act, has one of the most developed early-warning mechanisms to prevent conflict, with a legal framework that allows states to intervene if they fear the possibility of genocide or war crimes. It is time this mechanism was activated for the benefit of the African people.
This harrowing conflict is challenging the credibility of the AU. It must do more and do it urgently to reflect and fulfil the visions of its founders but also the expectations of the African people, who increasingly look at it as a guarantor of peace on the continent.
The world has seen the worst before, and I believe we have learned something from past tragedies to help us make the best decisions in the interests of our collective humanity. The UN security council must demonstrate, in deeds and words, unequivocal commitment to support the Sudanese people to rebuild their country, based on peace, justice and equality of citizenship for all.
What is going on in Sudan should be a source of shame, a scar on our collective humanity. I implore the international community to do more to address this tragic conflict, which has condemned millions to destitution and hopelessness.
- Adama Dieng is a Senegalese human rights expert and a special adviser at the international criminal court, and a former UN undersecretary-general and special adviser on the prevention of genocide.
Source : The Guardian