Welcome to Sudan365, the global campaign calling for a peaceful future for Sudan. On the 19th September we launched our new campaign film, targeting Guarantors of Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement, who are joining other leaders to discuss Sudan at the UN this week. Head over to our Get Involved page to sign up and call for leaders to work for a peaceful future for Sudan.
Featuring some of the world's best drummers, and your YouTube videos, the new film coincided with a day of action, with drumming events in all over the world and in all eleven Guarantor states and at the headquarters of their political institutions.
“This global drum beat sends a warning cry. We are at the eleventh hour. Preparations for the referendum are woefully behind schedule and the risk of conflict is increasing. It is time for those governments who promised to help implement the peace agreement to develop a package of pressure and incentives to persuade the Sudanese parties to broker peace and not war,”
Dr AlBakir Mukhtar Alafif, Sudanese activist appearing in the film, who is travelling to New York to meet with officials.
Celebrity musicians supporting Sudan365 on the 19th September included Will Champion of Coldplay, Angelique Kidjo and Hugh Masekela. The campaign is already supported by Phil Selway from Radiohead, Stewart Copeland from the Police, Nick Mason from Pink Floyd, Middle Eastern star Mohammed Mounir and Mustapha Tettey Addy from Ghana.
Posted by: Sudan365
20 December 2010
Darfur in 'Dissent'
In an article published on December 17th in Dissent, ‘Darfur Moves Deeper into the Shadow of Indifference,’ Eric Reeves questions the fate of Darfur as the human catastrophe taking place there becomes overshadowed by the upcoming referenda in South Sudan and Abyei. He claims that waning international attention in the region has meant that indifference has come to replace engagement in the crisis. As peace talks stall and reporting on the situation by both human rights and aid organizations is largely absent, it is the Darfuris who have fled the region that have become the primary source of news. Yet as Reeves warns, “the world’s knowledge of future atrocity crimes hangs by the slender thread of reports from the ground to the Darfuri diaspora and a very few news and human rights outlets. Khartoum has begun, in its growing military campaign in Darfur, to cut this final thread.”
Peter Moszynski discusses the likelihood of independence for the south, the failure to reach an agreement on the Abyei referendum, the neglect of the planned popular consultations in Blue Nile and South Kordofan and the complicated dynamic of oil.
He leaves us with a thought from former vice-president General Joseph Lagu: "Next year Sudan is going break apart. The question is will it divide peacefully like the Czech and Slovak republics or will it follow the example of Yugoslavia? Only time will tell."
Posted by: Sudan365
15 December 2010
Emmanuel Jal: 'We Want Peace'
Emmanuel Jal, a Sudanese musician and former child soldier, has released a new music video 'We Want Peace' to call for peace, protection and justice throughout Sudan.
Featuring Alicia Keys, George Clooney, Kofi Annan, Jimmy Carter and Richard Branson, Jal hopes to raise awareness about the Sudanese referendum on January 9 2011.
The campaign's objective is to create the political power needed to prevent resumed conflict by promising "diplomacy and not bloodshed."
Posted by: Sudan365
13 December 2010
Small Arms Survey: Updates
The Sudan Human Security Baseline Assessment (HSBA) is a research project managed by the Small Arms Survey whose goal is to provide empirical research in support of disarmament and demobilization initiatives across Sudan, as well as to provide updates on the movements and motives of armed groups.
The contested elections of April 2010 have produced a climate of insecurity as several dissident groups have launched armed insurrections against the ruling SPLM, thus further exacerbating inter-communal relations. The latest developments concerning these security issues and those stemming from the impending referendum is reflected in their research.
Working Papers and Issue Briefs provide details of arms flows, rebel groups and scenarios of violence and militarization. These are regularly updated. The HSBA also provides a useful list of documents, including the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Darfur Peace Agreement,
Posted by: Sudan365
10 December 2010
Recent Publications
Nov 2010 - The Enough Project has recently published a report by former US State Department official Jeff Millington, titled ‘Lessons from the Past: Reflections on US Efforts to Bring Peace to Sudan.’ Millington gives an in-depth account of the US strategy in Sudan from the late 1990s until 2005 and the events that led up to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. These reflections are particularly valuable today as the US government is once again involved in talks for compromise on numerous key issues between the two Sudanese parties.
Nov 2010 – Saferworld’s most recent briefing on Sudan titled ‘Southern Sudan: Referenda and Beyond,’ looks at the potential different scenarios that may emerge as a result of the upcoming referenda and their impact on peace and security in the region. Saferworld stresses the importance of arms control and improved police-community relations which are crucial in maintaining stability in the post-referendum period.
Dec 2010 - An article by Edward Thomas on ‘Sudan’s Referendum: Prickly Interdependence’ in The World Today, looks at the relationship between the northern and southern regimes and the so-called ‘prickly interdependence’ that currently exists between the two. He claims that economic ties between them mean that they will not be able to afford more war even if the Southern voters choose independence.
