Distress
and denial in Darfur
An Amnesty International
delegation visited Darfur from 14-21 September 2004 to gather information,
assess the human rights aspects of the crisis and press the Government
of Sudan to take action.
Findings of Amnesty
International visit to Darfur revealed distress, denial and disappointment.
Distress of people whose lives and livelihood have been destroyed, denial
of responsibility by the Sudanese government and disappointment at the
slow progress to resolve this crisis, concluded Amnesty International,
the first international non-governmental human rights organisation to
visit Sudan and meet with senior members of the Sudanese government,
since the Darfur crisis began.
In a marked departure
from past practice, the mission delegates were given free and full access
to Darfur.
The delegation saw
several sites where villages had been burnt to the ground, or abandoned
and which were now almost overgrown with vegetation. They saw camels,
goats and cattle being grazed by nomads on land where previously villages
of farming tribes had been situated.
They heard first
hand accounts of atrocities from displaced persons in camps and villages
in western Darfur and in Nyala in southern Darfur. Two women described
how, in February 2004, their village near Nuri in western Darfur was
attacked by armed militia and bombed, leaving some 130 people dead.
One of the women said that so many men had been killed that it was left
to the women to bury the dead and she and another woman had buried seven
men. The women placed the bodies they could not bury that evening in
a shelter, but they said that the Janjawid returned in the night and
burnt the shelter and the bodies.
The delegates visited
displaced people from nomadic tribes now in Musai camp near Nyala, where
they heard "mirror image" accounts of killings and rapes said
to have been committed by the insurgents. Amnesty International condemns
strongly all violations of international humanitarian law committed
by armed political groups.
Amnesty International
acknowledged the government's efforts to increase the number of police
in Darfur by redeployment from other parts of Sudan. However, often
they are not properly equipped. Furthermore, the delegation heard from
displaced persons that police did not investigate their complaints and
that some of Janjawid had been absorbed apparently into the police and
government militia.
"Because of
rampant insecurity and the failure to address past abuses, those who
have suffered say they do not trust the government. They say they don't
feel safe in the camps, they say they are filled with fear outside.
Every person we spoke to in the camps was adamant that they do not feel
safe enough to return to their villages," said Samkelo Mokhine,
Chair of AI South Africa, and a delegate on the mission.
"In this situation
the only solution is a massive increase in monitors. An international
presence in every district is what is needed now to build the confidence
of the people and improve security."
Amnesty International
welcomes the proposed increase of AU monitors. "But it is not just
an issue of numbers but also of ensuring that the mandate and capacity
of the AU monitors are strengthened to enable them to meet the expectations.
The UN human rights observers must also be dramatically increased and
properly resourced to carry out their responsibilities."
"Indicators
and benchmarks to judge progress on protection of human rights must
be qualitative and not quantitative -- it is not a question of numbers
of monitors and observers but of their impact on the protection of civilians;
it is not a question of simply having more policemen, but of them having
the ability and willingness to protect people," said Ms Khan.
"Restoring
security is essential to enable people to return home voluntarily and
in safety and dignity. The significance of establishing these conditions
cannot be too heavily underscored. Otherwise there is a risk that ethnic
cleansing might lead to ethnic re-engineering," cautioned Ms Khan,
pointing out that prolonged displacement could upset the demographic
balance in the region.
The Amnesty International
delegation found that the "safe areas" designated by the Government
of Sudan do not provide real safety to those living there, imply that
those living elsewhere can be attacked with impunity, and is a disincentive
for restoring security elsewhere.
"The UN must
persuade the Government of Sudan to abandon this concept and instead
put its weight behind the already agreed Plan of Action to enhance safety
throughout Darfur by stopping violations of human rights and international
humanitarian law, respecting the ceasefire, disarming and disbanding
the militia, and ending impunity."
Amnesty International
welcomes the request by the UN Security Council for the rapid establishment
of an independent International Commission of Inquiry, which has been
one of Amnesty International's key recommendations for some months,
to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity and establish
whether genocide has taken place.
The delegation concluded
that the humanitarian situation in Darfur remains extremely precarious,
despite full and free humanitarian access. "The region does not
have the infrastructure to allow a humanitarian operation of this scale
to be run for a long period of time. If displacement continues, access
is lost, international assistance and attention drops, there is still
a possibility that the crisis could turn into a catastrophe."
Sources: Amnesty International.
