A peace agreement for Sudan

Following the signing of a peace agreement for the Sudan, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) demands a rapid implementation of the agreement and better protection and justice for the survivors of the genocide. "The security situation is catastrophic, especially in Darfur. The survivors of the genocide have been waiting to be able to return to their stolen land, hoping that those who are responsible for their violent expulsion will be punished – but in vain," criticized Ulrich Delius, the STP's Director, in Göttingen on Monday. In July 2020 alone, armed militiamen had killed more than 100 members of the civilian population of Darfur. Many of the victims had only recently returned to their villages from refugee camps after they were promised safety there. "There will be no lasting peace without security and justice," Delius warned.  

In a peace treaty that was signed in the southern Sudanese capital Juba today, the Sudanese government and the most important resistance groups in Darfur agreed to end the civil war in the west of the country, which has been going on since 2003. The agreement is also intended to help secure peace in the disputed areas in South Kordofan and Blue Nile Province. The detailed agreement is based on a peace agreement that the parties to the agreement signed on September 11, 2019. After ten months of additional negotiations, they agreed on basic rules of security, power sharing, handling of raw materials, justice, and the return of refugees.

The implementation of the peace treaty will be an enormous challenge, the STP warned, emphasizing that written promises of justice were only a first, albeit important step. It will most probably be a much greater challenge to hold those accountable who were responsible for the crimes of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against the civilian population. "The RSF militia is responsible for the violent death of thousands of civilians. The militia, which has now been integrated into the Sudanese army, is regarded as a reservoir for the Janjaweed mounted militias, which are feared in Darfur. They are responsible for the displacement of 2.5 million people and the deaths of several hundred thousand more," Delius recalled. Their long-time commander Mohamed Hamdan (known as Hemeti) was head of the government delegation during the negotiations.

The months-long controversy over the transfer of the internationally wanted former head of state Omar Hassan al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court in The Hague clearly shows that the security apparatus is trying to obstruct any investigation into the genocide crimes, Delius warned. According to the UN, at least 400,000 people are said to have fallen victim to the genocide in western Sudan. But the actual number of victims is much higher, the human rights organization said.