Sudan disapproves of peacekeeping mission: Human rights advocates warn about increasing violence against civilians

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) warns that the UNAMID peacekeeping mission in Darfur should not be discontinued, as the civilian population in western Sudan would have to fear increasing violence by paramilitary forces and by the army. “Since January 2016, more than 130,000 Darfuris were forced to flee due to new clashes and air strikes. Contrary to the Sudanese government’s statements, Darfur is still far from lasting peace,” said Ulrich Delius, the STP’s Africa-consultant, in Göttingen on Tuesday. On Thursday, the UN Security Council has to decide whether the joint mission of the United Nations (UN) and the African Union will be continued until June 2017. According to the UN, the peacekeeping mission should be continued – while Sudan wants to put an end to the mission, arguing that the country is stable enough and that the refugees can now leave the camps.

However, representatives of the 2.7 million refugees are accusing the Sudanese government of whitewashing. They complain about lawlessness, arbitrariness, and a lack of security. Apparently, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – which report to the secret service NISS serves and were provided with weapons by the army – are still terrorizing the civilian population, using rape as a weapon of war. Due to lacking supplies and ever new restrictions issued by the authorities, the situation in the refugee camps has become so devastating that many Darfuris decide to leave the camps and try to survive on their own.

Prior to the decision in New York, the government of Sudan tried to put pressure on the UN. On Sunday, UNAMID commander Martin Uhomoibhi was summoned to the Sudanese Foreign Ministry after UN Deputy Secretary-General Hervé Ladsous, who is in charge of the peacekeeping mission, had advised the Security Council to vote for a continuation of the mission. He had justified his plea stating that little progress was made in the search for a political solution, and that there are still violent clashes. Sudan then accused the UN of “disinformation” and of trying to “paint a distorted picture of the humanitarian, military, and social situation in Darfur”. On May 19, 2016, Sudan's Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kamal Ismail, had already declared that “the civilian population is no longer in danger.”