Never Again is Again: Stand Up Against Genocide in Africa

Fellow UBC student Dave Steinbach has put together an excellent and accessible bibliography for further information on the Darfur conflict, and Sudan in general.

For a general background on conflict history and peacekeeping efforts in Sudan, the Accord publication is invaluable and can be located at: http://www.c-r.org/ourwork/accord/sudan/contents.php.

Eric Reeves’ website is also incredibly useful, as he’ll post a new article on a weekly basis about the continuing crises in Sudan. If you’re willing to search through his database, you’ll find some great articles coming from one of the leading advocates for international support in Sudan. Located at http://www.sudanreeves.org

In addition, the Global Security website has a lot of background information but it is somewhat incoherent and more difficult to sift through:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/sudan-civil-war1.htm

For data on political and social indicators, as well as for an update report on human rights issues, there are a whole range of NGOs and research institutions that write valuable reports on Darfur and Southern Sudan. It is essential to look at:
1) Freedom House www.freedomhouse.org

2) Transparency International www.transparency.org

3) Failed States Index http://www.fundforpeace.org/programs/fsi/fsindex2006.php

4) CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/su.html

5) International Crisis Group www.icg.org

6) Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org

Needless to say, there are many more For the most reliable statistics on social services, the World Bank is by far the most accurate and comprehensive resource (despite many people’s objections to their actual policies) If you have time it is really worthwhile to read some of their reports that outline potential development projects, especially the ones on health, sanitation, and education. The reports can be found at
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/SUDANEXTN/0,
,menuPK:375449~pagePK:64026187~piPK:141126~theSitePK:375422,00.html

Also, data on the sheer poverty of Southern Sudan can be read in the JAM report at
http://www.dep.no/ud/english/topics/sudan/conference/all/032041-120006/dok-bn.html

Like the World Bank for development statistics, the IMF website has the most accurate statistics on macroeconomic performance, and they do an excellent job in outlining the reliance of Sudan’s economy on the oil industry. It can be found at http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2006/cr06182.pdf

Canada’s response to the situation in Darfur and Southern Sudan can be documented on the CIDA, DFAIT and DoD websites. They are:
1) CIDA: http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/CIDAWEB/acdicida.nsf/En/JUD-217124359-NT2?OpenDocument
2) DFAIT: https://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/canadasudan/backgrounder-contributions-en.asp
3) DoD: http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/operations/augural/index_e.asp

Finally, if you are interested in reading about what is currently happening in Sudan it is best to regularly read the BBC news at http://news.bbc.co.uk where there is a story almost every day. You can also read the archives to find some key information that may have happened in the past year.

(The complete backgrounder in pdf can be found here.)

- sara