Christians See Hope for 'Final Peace' in Sudan Peace Treaty
Sudan’s Khartoum government and southern rebels signed an historic treaty, Friday, which set a Dec. 31 deadline to end the nation’s 21-year war. While the pledge, signed in front of 15 U.N. Security Council ambassadors, was generally lauded as the “first step toward ending the longest civil war in Africa,” Christian and humanitarian leaders warned politicians not to celebrate prematurely and remember the ongoing genocide in Darfur.
“We hope that the treaty works, but we have concerns as well. Peace agreements have been initiated before; the Khartoum government and rebels have come together to say they will come to peace, but they never worked through before,” said Dr. Tony Kireopoulos, associate general secretary for international affair and peace for the National Council of Churches (NCC).
The violence in Southern Sudan erupted in 1983 when Sudan’s Khartoum government tried to impose Islamic law on the entire country. Mainly African and Christian rebels from the south retaliated against the laws and the two factions have been fighting since. In the aftermath of the war, some 1.5 million Sudanese died.
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Beginning in 2002, after International peace-making bodies stepped in, Khartoum signed six preliminary protocols with the southern rebels to form a coalition government, decentralize power, share in oil revenues and integrate the military. Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha and southern rebel leader John Garang, the main peace negotiators for the warring factions, have also made similar, failed “peace treaties” over the past year. However, this time, the two groups signed the treaty on paper before the Security Council.
The Security Council in turn adopted a resolution promising political and substantial economic support once Sudan heeds to the treaty and ends the war. The resolution also said it would consider “appropriate” actions if Sudan did not follow through on its commitments, which the Associated Press called “an oblique threat of sanctions but weaker wording than in previous resolutions.”
"It's up to you to prove the naysayers and skeptics wrong," said U.S. Ambassador John Danforth, the current council president, to Taha and Garang. "The violence and atrocities being perpetrated must end now. You have heard this message clearly from the Security Council -- heed it."
Danforth was also referring to the ongoing conflict in the Darfur region in Western Sudan, where government-backed Arab militia had been slaughtering, raping and dislocating indigenous Africans by the millions, in what the US government and Christian humanitarian groups dubbed “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing.”
Darfur was also on the minds of Christian and humanitarian leaders, many who said more was needed than a “trail of weak resolutions” to halt the fighting.
"From New York to Nairobi, a trail of weak resolutions on Darfur has led nowhere," said Caroline Nursey, regional director of Amnesty International.
Jerema Rome of Human Rights Watch feared Sudan "will take this resolution as a blank check to continue its persecution of the civilian population in Darfur."
Kristin Sachen, assistant general sectary for the United Methodist Committee on Relief, agreed, saying: "I think the situation in Darfur is so serious and good faith has not been shown to date. The government just has not been responsive.”
Nonetheless, Sachen, who called Darfur the “humanitarian crisis of the age,” said she hopes the treaty may open a much-needed window for peace in the region.
“My hope is that this is a real opportunity to step forward and do the right thing,” said Sachen.
Kireopoulos, who earlier met with the UN General Secretary Kofi Annan to discuss the crisis in Darfur, agreed, saying: “The NCC hopes that peace can finally be achieved.”
“There are many difficulties yet to be overcome, including the genocide in Darfur. But we hope that the parties will indeed make a final peace in the south because that’s central to peace in the entire country,” said Kireopoulous.
“As Christians we must have hope… and monitor the victims that are suffering. I think along with all people, we have great concerns that peace may not be achieved by the end of the year, but we should still try to work till the end,” he added.
According to the Associated Press, Council ambassadors believe the recent peace treaty, if effectively implemented, could be a blueprint for Darfur.
The peace treaty was signed during the extraordinary UN Security Council meeting on Nov. 19, 2004. The meeting, held in Nairobi, Kenya, was the first time the Council met outside its New York home in 14 years.
