Daily Darfur: You Can't Cry "Sovereignty" When Bombing Your Own People

by Michelle

category: Daily Darfur

Published February 04, 2009 @ 04:28AM PT

The situation in Muhajiriya, South Darfur, continues to deteriorate, with 30,000 civilians displaced by fighting between Darfur rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), and the Sudanese government. A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights criticized both sides for jeopardizing the lives of civilians:

"The fighting is reported to have involved both ground offensives and indiscriminate aerial bombardment by government forces that failed to distinguish between civilian communities and military targets. And, on the other side, JEM [Justice and Equality Movement] forces are reported to have deliberately placed themselves in areas heavily populated by civilians, thereby jeopardizing their safety."

Somewhat to their credit, the JEM announced that it would withdraw from Muhajiriya, but only if the area became a de-militarized zone secured by UNAMID peacekeepers. As Maggie at the ENOUGH Project writes, Khartoum wasted no time rejecting the offer:

"Sudan's foreign ministry spokesman, Ali al-Sadig told Reuters that the Sudanese army, ‘is determined to re-take Muhajariya by force.' JEM's leader Khalil Ibrahim shot back, also telling Reuters, ‘If they [the Sudanese military] come back, we will come back.'"

JEM's offer seems like a fairly reasonable path to quelling hostilities in the region, but Khartoum appears to be about as cooperative as a rambunctious three-year-old in the candy aisle of the grocery store. UNAMID officials said today that they hope to convince Khartoum to comply with a planned no-fire zone --- but it certainly looks like they have their work cut out for them.

In another show of blatant disregard for even cosmetic motions of cooperation, Sudanese forces prevented UNAMID investigators from traveling to Muhajiriya yesterday. Peacekeepers in Muhajiriya, however, said that they would not comply with Khartoum's request that they leave the area. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, along with several members of the Security Council, also affirmed that the troops will remain in place.

Susan Rice, Obama's Ambassador to the UN, condemned the attacks yesterday, railing on the government for continuing its aerial bombardment despite the fact that the rebels have withdrawn over 30 miles from the town:

"‘Instead, the bombardment continues and the government of Sudan has prevented UNAMID personnel from moving into the area to investigate, impeding the freedom of movement of these personnel which is a violation of the status of forces agreement between UNAMID and the government,' she said.

Rice said she was worried the violence would escalate, adding that the council was working on the wording of a demand for a ceasefire and end to the bombing."

Wording...but followed up by what? Words have been thrown around for five years. (If you haven't already, please call the White House and tell Obama to take action to curb the violence in Muhajiriya.)

Amid this mess, China reiterated its support for Khartoum, saying, among other things, "China respects Sudan's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Bull. On the domestic front, you aren't immune from laws against, say, killing someone, just because you do it in your own house. National sovereignty is not carte blanche to commit atrocities against innocent, unarmed civilians.

Interestingly, I had a brief discussion on the sovereignty issue wit KTJ from Stop Genocide Now yesterday. In response to UNAMID's refusal to leave Muhajiriya, KT opined that "a peacekeeping force there to protect civilians from their government shouldn't be under the influence of that government." In her blog post yesterday, Maggie at ENOUGH made a similar comment:

"It remains intolerable for UNAMID to allow the government to control access, and it is impossible to imagine how UNAMID can actually protect civilians without freedom of movement for peacekeepers."

I couldn't agree more --- the primary peace disrupt-ers should not be in control of the actions and movements of peacekeepers. The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine, adopted by the UN in 2005, acknowledges that state sovereignty does not stand when a government is abusing its own citizens. I commend UNAMID for its backbone, and hope that the international community will step up to bolster and support the force.

In other news...

Turkish human rights advocates are criticizing their government for its double standard on human rights issues in Gaza in Darfur, following meetings between the Turkish prime minister and the Sudanese vice president:

"In as much as Turkey says it is loyally committed to international norms and condemns the disproportionate use of force by Israel in Gaza, it must show the same sensitivity for those accused of genocide by the International Criminal Court," Mensur Akgün, professor of international relations, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review yesterday.

And Kate and Amanda at Wronging Rights joined, in typically provocative fashion, The Rumble yesterday...which I'm still mulling over. Michael is preparing another response as well. This could go on for a long, long time...especially as both Michael and I always like to have the last word.

[File Photo from AFP: Children gather in front of a United Nations helicopter in central Darfur.]