China Says There's Nothing More It Can Do For Darfur

China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun has proclaimed that his country has done all it can do to help end the conflict in Darfur. “We have done as much as we can do. China remains committed to resolving the Darfur issue and has made unremitting efforts,” said Zhai. Yet China has yet to take one easy and practical step that would no doubt help end the conflict: halt its substantial arms sales to the Government of Sudan. Sources in the region tell Human Rights First that the Sudanese government is shipping weapons to Darfur on nearly a daily basis where they are used by government forces and proxy militia (called Janjaweed) to kill, displace, rape and maim civilians. Such arms transfers into Darfur have been unlawful since the Security Council imposed Darfur arms embargo was expanded to cover the Government of Sudan in 2005. While China cannot end the violence in Darfur, it can stop its arms sales to Sudan. Such action will help create the conditions under which peace is possible in a region where hundreds of thousands have died and millions continue to suffer.

Over 40 Organizations Urge the G8 to Act on Darfur

An international coalition of over 40 nongovernmental organizations from all eight countries represented by the G8 called today on their nations’ leaders to forcefully advocate for concrete and immediate steps to end the crisis in Darfur.

In an open letter sent yesterday, the coalition, which is led by Human Rights First and includes nongovernmental organizations from Sudan itself and from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, called on G8 leaders to insist on specific measures to address the Darfur crisis in the outcome statement issued at the end of the July summit in Hokkaido, Japan. These measures include the cessation of violence, the immediate deployment of the peacekeeping force (UNAMID), a halt to all arms transfers to Darfur, a recommitment to peace processes, and justice and accountability for atrocities committed.

“The crisis in Darfur takes a break for nothing, including the G8 meetings. These leaders have the responsibility to use their influence to pressure both Sudan and its partners whose actions or support fuel the violence,” said Betsy Apple, director of the Crimes Against Humanity Program at Human Rights First.

“The time for more hand wringing is well past. G8 members should issue a clear and unequivocal statement that they will put their full weight behind ending the crisis in Darfur,” she added.
The coalition is calling for a stronger, more specific statement than one issued during last year’s summit to include issues such as the flow of arms into Darfur. The G8 summit provides an opportunity to urge states to stop all arms transfers to Darfur in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1591 which imposed an arms embargo prohibiting all countries from shipping weapons that go directly or indirectly to Darfur. China is the largest provider of small arms to Sudan.

The coalition also seeks to address the violence in the region, through both increased peace efforts in Darfur and a recommitment to the North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Finally, recognizing that peace and justice are interrelated, the coalition wants the G8 to unequivocally stand for justice and accountability for atrocities committed by parties to the conflict.

“Efforts to establish peace have failed – violence is on the rise. Nobody is abiding by agreed terms, and nobody is being held accountable,” said Amir Mohamed Suliman, Chairperson of the Sudan-based Khartoum Center for Human Rights & Environmental Development.
The coalition members include:

Canada: Canadians Against Slavery and Torture in Sudan, Save Darfur Canada, STAND Canada. France: Collectif Urgence Darfour, Fédération Internationale des Droits de l'Homme (FIDH).Germany: Darfur-Hilfe Verein e.V, Society for Threatened Peoples.Italy: Comitato Collaborazione Medica (CCM), Italians for Darfur, Missionari Comboniani, No Peace Without Justice.Japan: Human Rights Now, Japanese for Darfur.Russia: Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights, The Institute of Human Rights, The Moscow Helsinki Group.Sudan: Khartoum Centre for Human Rights and Environmental Development, Sudan Social Development Organization.United Kingdom: Aegis Trust, International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), Sudan Organization Against Torture.U.S.A.: American Jewish World Service, Americans Against the Darfur Genocide, Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Colorado Coalition for Genocide Awareness and Action, Darfur Action Group-Northwest Bronx/Yonkers, Darfur Metro, Dream for Darfur, ENOUGH,Essex County Coalition for Darfur,Genocide Intervention Network, Genocide No More-Save Darfur, Human Rights First, Humanity United, Investors Against Genocide, Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), Jewish World Watch, Jews Against Genocide, New York City Coalition for Darfur, Physicians for Human Rights, San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition: Darfur Peace and Development, SaveDarfurWashingtonState, STAND, Stop GENOCIDE Now, Team Darfur, Westchester Darfur Coalition.

Read the Letter sent to G8 Leaders here: G8%20Ltr%20Head%20of%20State%20Generic%20%282%29.pdf

China to Sudan: Cooperate with Peacekeeping Mission

Human Rights First welcomes the news that Chinese President Hu has publicly urged the Government of Sudan to allow for the immediate deployment of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force for Darfur (called UNAMID). We have been pressing China to play a more constructive role in helping to resolve the conflict in Darfur that has left more than 200,000 people dead and at least 2.5 million people homeless. Since UNAMID took over peacekeeping operations at the end of December 2007, it has been plagued with delays, many of them due to the Government of Sudan’s obstructionist tactics.

While China’s public rebuke of Khartoum’s obstructionism is welcome, China can and needs to do much more to help resolve the Darfur crisis. As Martin Luther Agwai, the commander of the UNAMID peacekeeping force, has repeatedly observed, there is currently no peace to keep in Darfur. Achieving peace is greatly complicated by the fact that the Sudanese Government has access to all the weapons that it needs, and ships the weapons to Darfur which are then turned against civilians. Where do these weapons come from? One primary source is China. From 2004-2006, China supplied Sudan with some 90 percent of its small arms.

In 2005, the U.N. Security Council expanded the Darfur arms embargo to cover the Government of Sudan. However, Khartoum has continued to openly ship weapons to Darfur in clear violation of the embargo. Because China is continuing to ship weapons to the Sudanese Government with full knowledge that Khartoum is transferring its weapons to Darfur, the Chinese Government is failing to comply with the arms embargo as well.

China has repeatedly stated that it is not the Government of Sudan, and there is only so much it can do to help resolve the Darfur issue. This is true. But China does have absolute control over where it ships its weapons. By halting its arms sales to Sudan, China would make a practical contribution to help ensure that UNAMID troops have a peace to keep.

U.S. Speaks Out Against China's Weapons Sales to Sudan

On Wednesday the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing titled “China in Africa: Implications on U.S. Policy”. Among the presenters were James Swan, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and Tom Christensen, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. During Swan and Christensen's joint testimony, Swan’s explained that the U.S. Government has “...asked the Chinese Government to halt its companies’ substantial arms trade with Sudan because of the likelihood that some Chinese-origin armaments are being used by the Sudanese government in Darfur, in contravention of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1591.” (Resolution 1591 placed a legally binding arms embargo on Darfur) Human Rights First welcomes Mr. Swan’s statement and urges the U.S. Government to continue pressuring China, both publicly and privately, to immediately halt its arms sales Sudan.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang responded Swan’s testimony yesterday by saying "China's efforts on Darfur are no worse than and no less than any other country in the world.” It is true that China played an important role in getting Khartoum’s buy-in for the Security Council authorized UN-AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur (called UNAMID). China has since contributed engineers to help build infrastructure critical to UNAMID’s operations. However, such contributions are overshadowed by China’s continued sale of weapons to the Government of Sudan.

It is now clear that parties to the conflict in Darfur have little incentive to achieve a peaceful settlement to the conflict as long as they have access to the weapons that fuel the violence. By sustaining its weapons sales to the Government of Sudan with full knowledge that Khartoum is committing atrocities in Darfur, China is giving a green light for Khartoum to ignore binding Security Council resolutions. Clearly China cannot be expected to end the atrocities in Darfur, that is the ultimate responsibility of the Government of Sudan. But there is no question that China can stop selling arms to Khartoum, thereby sending a strong message that it is committed to a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the region.

The G8 Should Make a Definitive Statement on Sudan/Darfur

New momentum is building around the movement to end atrocities in Darfur. Last week Senators Obama, McCain and Clinton issued a historic joint statement of solidarity calling for an end to the violence in the region. While such a statement is most welcome, action must be taken now by governments to create a climate in Darfur and throughout Sudan that will help ensure a sustainable peace is possible.

The G8 Summit happening in Hokkaido Japan July 7-9 offers an opportunity for member’s of the powerful economic body to make specific commitments about how they will help end the violence in Sudan/Darfur. The Sudan/Darfur statement issued by G8 members last year was welcomed but contained no such commitments. This year Human Rights First is urging G8 members to issue a Sudan/Darfur statement that—at a minimum—addresses the following five areas in a concrete way:

· An immediate cessation of the violence. The statement should strongly condemn the renewed violence in Darfur and call on all parties to adhere to previous ceasefire agreements. Likewise, the statement should condemn the recent fighting in Abyei and call on the Government of Sudan and Sudan People’s Liberation Army to adhere to the ceasefire agreed upon as part of the CPA.
· Halting the transfers of arms. The statement should condemn ongoing violations of the arms embargo articulated in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1591. It should urge all states to stop all arms transfers that go, directly or indirectly, to Darfur in violation of Resolution 1591.
· Deployment of UNAMID. The statement should offer specific assistance from G8 members to ensure that UNAMID has the technical assistance and equipment necessary to fully deploy as quickly as possible.
· A reinvigorated peace process in Darfur and a recommitment to the CPA. The statement also should lay out a specific plan for how G8 governments will support efforts to establish a sustainable peace in Darfur and the full implementation of the CPA.
· Justice and accountability for atrocities committed. The statement should support existing and future efforts to pursue accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by all parties to the conflict in Darfur.

It is doubtful that the G8 will make specific commitments on how it will help resolve the conflict in Sudan/Darfur without at least one member “championing” the cause. Such a champion is unlikely to emerge unless there is a strong outcry from advocacy groups and prominent individuals. Hopefully George Clooney’s recent call for G8 action on Darfur is the first of many of prominent individuals speaking to the issue.

Stay tuned for opportunities on how you can work with Human Rights First to urge G8 member’s to make concrete commitments to help end the violence in Sudan/Darfur.