Overview: Southern Sudan

From 1983-2005, civil war between north and south Sudan killed at least 2 million people, mostly civilians, and displaced more than 4 million people. The principal victims included the Dinka and Nuer peoples in southern Sudan and the Nuba in central Sudan. Although the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and other rebel groups in the south contributed to the high level of violence, primary responsibility for this war's devastation belonged to the Sudanese government, a military regime based in the north in Sudan's capital Khartoum.

A pattern of government sponsored actions included:

• A divide-to-destroy strategy of pitting ethnic groups against each other, with enormous loss of civilian life;
• The use of mass starvation and mass forcible displacement as a weapon of destruction;
• The destruction of indigenous cultures;
• The enslavement of women and children by government-supported militias;
• The repeated bombing of hospitals, clinics, schools, and other civilian and humanitarian targets;
• Massive human rights abuses including: murder, rape, and persecution based on race, ethnicity, and religion;
• Impeding the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

Individually, each action had devastating, often deadly consequences for its victim. Together, these actions threatened the destruction of entire groups of people. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed by the government and the SPLM on January 9, 2005. It ended the war and established parameters for a new unified government, which the Sudanese government has yet to fully implement.

Tensions remain high around the disputed regions of Southern Blue Nile, Nuba Mountains, and Abyei.

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Cattle Raids Leave Hundreds Dead in the South

In recent months, violence associated with cattle raiding and counter-raids has killed hundreds of people, mainly women and children, in southern Sudan. The attacks stem from land and cattle disputes between ethnic groups and are compounded by the region’s history of economic and political marginalization. The conflict comes at an uneasy time, as south Sudan prepares for national elections in early 2010 and a referendum on southern independence in 2011.

“The scale of the conflict, scale of death, scale of destruction is really worrying,” the U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes said in Akobo in southern Sudan’s Jonglei state. In addition to putting new populations at risk, the violence has also complicated the repatriation of displaced civilians and the delivery of aid.

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Obama Appoints Special Envoy for Sudan

On March 18 President Obama appointed retired Air Force Major General Scott Gration as his Special Envoy for Sudan. Gen. Gration is a decorated fighter pilot who was raised in Africa and speaks fluent Swahili. In 2006, Gen. Gration accompanied then-Senator Obama to Africa, where the two visited refugee camps in eastern Chad, and often traveled with Obama during the presidential campaign last year. As Special Envoy, Gen. Gration will work to implement the policy of the Obama administration in Sudan.

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ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Bashir

On March 4, 2009, a Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced its historic decision to issue an arrest warrant charging Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with five counts of crimes against humanity and two counts of war crimes for his leadership role in orchestrating the conflict in Darfur.

The charges against Mr. Bashir include murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture, rape, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, and pillaging. Notably absent from the warrant is the charge of genocide.

This decision marks the first time the ICC has issued an arrest warrant for a sitting head of state.

Some have contended that an ICC indictment of the President of Sudan, which enforces international law and holds him accountable for his crimes, is necessary for sustained peace. Others are concerned that such an indictment could negatively impact the peace negotiations, prolonging war or perhaps even accelerating it resulting in more deaths, sexual violence, destruction, and misery. These debates intensified in July 2008, when the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo presented evidence of crimes to a panel of ICC judges and asked them to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President al-Bashir on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes for his leadership role in orchestrating violence in Darfur.

The Sudanese government has said it will resist the ICC request, contending that Bashir is innocent. Two others in Sudan Ahmad Harun, Minister in charge of security, and Ali Kushayb, a janjaweed militia leader were indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the ICC in 2007. They were not considered senior enough to impact peace negotiations.

Following the announcement of the arrest warrant, the Sudanese government expelled several humanitarian aid agencies from Sudan, jeopardizing the lives of millions.

On March 5, 2009, the Museum issued a press statement, decrying the eviction of aid agencies in Darfur and Southern Sudan.

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ICC Arrest Warrant Requested for Bashir

On July 14, 2008, International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the court to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, charging him with several counts of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes for the government’s role in orchestrating genocidal violence in Darfur. In announcing the request, Ocampo said that President Bashir had masterminded and implemented a strategy aimed at destroying the three primary ethnic groups in Darfur: the Fur, Zaghawa, and Masaalit. The ICC judges may take several months to review the evidence before deciding whether or not to issue the warrant. This request is the first time the ICC prosecutor has brought charges against a sitting head of state. Tensions in Sudan remain high, as government-led reprisals could hamper humanitarian aid efforts, peace negotiations in Darfur, or the beleaguered UN peacekeeping deployment.

The charges against Bashir come amidst continuing conflict in Darfur and a mixed record of implementing the terms of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between Sudan’s north and south. In May, government forces attacked and destroyed the disputed border town of Abyei. Some plans, however, are moving forward for the first national elections in more than twenty years.

In the CPA, the final status of Abyei, an oil rich area, was left to international arbitration. The Government of Sudan rejected a mediated decision and tensions had been building around the area for several months. In May, the tensions and sporadic violence culminated in a government attack that resulted in the displacement of 50,000 people and destroyed the town.

In response to the violence, the Joint Integrated Unit (JIU) re-deployed to Abyei in June, paving the way for people to return with assistance from the UN. Established by the CPA, the JIU is comprised of an equal number of soldiers from SAF and the SPLA and is responsible for securing the region from other forces.

Although the fighting in Abyei threatened to disrupt immediate political progress, the Sudanese government proceeded in early July under the terms of the 2005 peace deal by passing a new electoral law that allows preparations for a national election next year. A national census, begun in late April as a prerequisite for the 2009 elections, is being conducted and will help determine the distribution of power and oil proceeds throughout Sudan. Complicated by the movement of displaced populations, vocal opposition from Darfur’s rebel groups, and the difficulties of accessing parts of the country due to fighting and landmines, the official count is likely to be problematic.

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Renewed Violence between the North and South

Tensions between Sudan’s North and South highlighted concerns about the viability of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). One of the main disputes has been over control of oil rich regions, like that of Abyei. An international boundary commission appointed to resolve these issues and delineate the borders of each region placed Abyei in the South, but the North rejected this decision. The Government of Sudan has also failed to redeploy troops in other contested oil-rich areas. Fighting has occurred in Bahr-al-Ghazal between Misseriya militias and former SPLA rebels in early March, causing an estimated seventy deaths. The same area suffered violence in December as well, resulting in approximately 100 deaths.

Within the South, there are also divisions about the region’s future, with some leaders advocating remaining inside Sudan and others pushing for eventual Southern independence. This issue will continue to be debated among Southerners leading up to the planned national election in 2009 and a 2011 national referendum on the South’s status, as stipulated in the CPA. A crucial step to prepare for these events is the national census, currently scheduled to take place between April 15 and 30.

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Key Points of Contention

On October 11, 2007, the former southern rebel movement, the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), suspended its participation in the Government of National Unity. The move was triggered by deep dissatisfaction among southerners with implementation of and the ruling National Congress Party’s commitment to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which was signed in 2005 and ended a two-decade war between the Khartoum-based government and the SPLM. Key points of contention include the demarcation line between the South and North, particularly in the three disputed areas of Abyei, Southern Blue Nile, and the Nuba Mountains; the removal of northern troops from the South; oil-revenue sharing; and preparations for 2009 national elections, including a census. The government of Southern Sudan also cited censorship and manipulation of the press as core concerns. While both sides have expressed their commitment to the CPA, discussions to bridge the differences have made little progress. Both sides agreed to some troop redeployments by January 9, 2008, the third anniversary of the CPA signing. But talks fell apart during a trip to the United States by Salva Kiir, the president of Southern Sudan and the first vice-president in the Government of National Unity. The National Congress Party leadership has been highly critical of Kiir’s attempts to re-engage the international community in overseeing the implementation of the CPA.

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Two Sudans

John Garang, the newly sworn-in First Vice President of Sudan and leader of the southern Sudanese rebels, died on July 31, 2005, when a helicopter he was traveling in crashed near the Ugandan border with Sudan. Garang was the undisputed leader of the rebel Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and a pivotal figure in the peace negotiations that culminated on January 9, 2005, with a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the decades long rebellion in southern Sudan. His death puts into question the viability of the CPA.

Since Garang’s death, the implementation of the CPA has been slow and partial at best. The SPLA has become spread thin in its role as lead party in the new autonomous Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), and the minority partner in the new Government of National Unity. They have been unsuccessful in challenging the failure to implement provisions of the CPA by the Khartoum based National Congress Party. While oil money has been flowing from the North to the South as dictated by the CPA, many other security issues and integration plans for the Northern and Southern troops have failed to coalesce. Currently one of the most frightening failed aspects of the CPA has been the lack of motion towards organizing the national elections required to occur no later than July 2009. US officials and representatives of the GoSS have voiced concern of severely increased instability in the region if these elections fail to occur.

The conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan is increasing tensions in North South conflicts due to spill-over violence in the region as well as a sense of abandonment by the international community who has diverted all attention on the country to the crisis in Darfur. US Special Envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios stated on February 8th 2007 before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs that “without international action to energize the implementation of the CPA, the most likely outcome will be two Sudans.” In a recent meeting Natsios commented on the disastrous nature of such a split with fears of increased violence throughout the region.

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