Filed under: background information
Human Rights Watch has produced an excellent backgrounder on Sudan, which can be found here. Additionally, go here for more on the Darfur conflict specificially.
- sara
Canada has long been considered a peacekeeping nation, or at least, that is how we perceive ourselves. While in recent years, Canadian military involvement has mostly been green helmet (Afghanistan being the most pertinent example), rather than the blue helmets of a UN-mandated peacekeeping mission, supporting a peacemaking/peacekeeping operation in Darfur would be valuable in maintaining Canada’s reputation on the international stage. Indeed, Canada should be praised for the monetary contribution it has made to the African Union troops, but more can and should be done on the part of the Canadian government with regards to Darfur.
The country also prides itself in respecting and furthering international law and the idea of a global community. In fact, the country was a leader in the development of R2P, and other initiatives such as the treaty prohibiting anti-personnel landmines, have been developed and drawn up in Canada. The conflict in Darfur is an opportunity for the Canadian government to respect and further international law. If international law is ever to be a legitimate force in this world, it needs to be adhered to.
Many have argued—and rightly so—that at least one of the requirements of the Genocide Convention has been met*, and thus, there is an international, legal responsibility for a response. Specifically interesting is Article 3[e], which lists “complicity in genocide” as a “punishable” act.
Finally, it may be in the interest of the Harper government—should an election be called—to be able to say that it did indeed “play its part” in helping the people of Darfur.
This of course, is all without even considering that we have a moral obligation to other human beings.
*If the estimates of 400,000 dead are correct—and some estimate the numbers to be even higher—, that is 1/10th of the population of the Darfur region. The vast majority of these people are Black African Sudanese (Article 2 [a]). It is very difficult to get aid into the region (Article 2 [c]). Even if it’s NOT genocide, the ATTEMPT to commit or complacence towards genocide is sufficient (Article 3 [d,e])
- sara
Filed under: Uncategorized
Between 1998 and 2000, I particpated in a study of the Rwandan genocide, commissioned by the Organization of African Unity. Visits to commemorative sites reminiscent of Auschwitz, encounters with survivors, interviews with women who had been raped repeatedly during the genocide–it all felt like a descent into depravity from which there was no escape. And yet, somehow, because it came to an end, because the little country of Rwanda is managing to piece itself together, step by painful step, there is at least a sense that the horrific events are rendered unto history. That is not to say that we should ever forget, only to say that it is over.
- from Stephen Lewis’ Race Against Time
The people of Sudan deserve to live in a world where they have the opportunity to piece their country together, too. Where they can say that the indiscriminate killing is over.
A civilian killed by the Sudanese Government backed Janjaweed militia in Farawyaiah, West Darfur. The soldiers in the background are from the Sudanese Liberation Army, one of many military factions in the region. Lynsey Addario, Reality Based Nation, August 24, 2004.
- sara
Filed under: Uncategorized
Since this is how most university students seem to communicate anyway these days!!!
- sara
Filed under: Uncategorized
Tickets are available at the Outpost (in the Student Union Building at UBC), or at Zulu Records (1972 West 4th)
Or, contact us by email: neveragainisagain@gmail.com
Or, contact us by phone: 604.710.1175
Hope to see you all there!
- sara
Filed under: FAQ - NAIA
The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) report was issued by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, with the support of the Government of Canada. The full pdf document can be found here. Essentially:
“[t]he Responsibility to protect populations from genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity is an international commitment by governments to prevent and react to grave crises, wherever they may occur. In 2005, world leaders agreed, for the first time, that states have a primary responsibility to protect their own populations and that the international community has a responsibility to act when these governments fail to protect the most vulnerable among us.”
The unanimous adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1674 on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflicts is the first official UNSC reference to R2P; it “Reaffirms the provisions of paragraphs 138 and 139 of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document regarding the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity”.
It is with this in mind that we believe the international community has a responsibility to protect the people of Darfur.
- sara
Who: YOU! (Hopefully)
What: A benefit and awareness night for genocide in Africa.
When: April 11, 2007 // Doors at 9pm
Where: The Plaza Club (881 Granville Street)
How: For tickets, contact us via email (neveragainisagain@gmail.com), call 604.710.1175, or visit The Outpost on UBC campus. Ten dollars gets you admission and a free drink, and every penny goes directly to the film Rwanda: Hope Rises. TICKETS ARE NOT AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR!!!!
And now a bit more:
As most of you know, the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan, has claimed at least 200,000 lives so far, with many more victims of violence, sexual atrocities, and displacement. Our goal is to raise awareness about the conflict in Darfur, but also to raise money for the film Rwanda: Hope Rises. This is the project of a local Vancouver filmmaker, whose work gives a voice to a nation that is rebuilding itself after the genocide of 1994. Each one of the 800,000+ people who were killed in the Rwandan genocide had a heartbeat, a soul, and a future. Darfur is not Rwanda, but the film is a reminder of the humanity and value of the African people, and of what can happen when the international community suffers from apathy or gets caught up in definitions. A clip of the film will be shown during the evening, so that you can get an idea of where your money is going. So, it’s going to be a great night of dancing and hanging out, but also a fantastic opportunity to find out how we can—and why we should—speak out against genocide. It might be as simple as informing yourself about the crisis in Darfur, or signing Amnesty International’s “Protect the People of Darfur” petition. It could be talking to someone about how you can become more involved.
The catch: TICKETS MUST BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE! No tickets will be sold at the door, and we are not allowed to sell tickets within 3 blocks of The Plaza on the night of the event. Tickets are available on UBC campus at The Outpost, or by contacting us. We’ll do our very best to get a ticket to you!
Please consider coming out, and please spread the word; we need to sell tickets for this event to be a success, so forward this email and tell your friends, cousins, pets, etc. to come out and join us.
Check out www.neveragainisagain.wordpress.com (a work currently in progress) for more information. We plan to continue working on this as an on-going project over the next few months.
Hope to see you all there!
Sara
p.s. – If you can’t make it, but would like to contribute to this cause, please let me know; we’re grateful for your support.
Filed under: FAQ - NAIA
Here is a growing list of questions that people have asked us as we’ve prepared for the benefit, as well as questions that we’ve asked of friends, profs, and classmates as we struggle to understand what’s going on in Sudan, and what we can and should do in response. Check back for updates as we add to this list 
.
What do you mean by “Never Again Is Again”?
Would the government in Sudan be willing to allow UN troops into Darfur?
What is The Responsibility to Protect (R2P)?
What can Canada (and Canadians) do?
Is it in Canada’s national interest to become involved in Darfur?
Aren’t there already troops on the ground in Sudan?
Where can I find further information on the Internet?
Where can I find more general background on Sudan’s history?
Where can I find out more about the conflict in Darfur?
What are some of the current social and political indicators in Sudan?
What has the international response to Darfur been like so far?
What has Canada’s response been to Darfur?
- sara
There are approximately 7,000 African Union (AU) troops in Sudan right now, whose purpose is to provide protection for humanitarian workers. This works out to just over 3 soldiers for every 100km of land. Comparatively, there are currently 11 soldiers for every 100km of land in Bosnia, 10 years after the conflict ended. Some estimate that 44,000 troops would be needed for any effective patrolling and protection of the area.
Their main focus is Southern Sudan, and supporting the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). These troops have a mandate that is supported by the Sudanese government in Khartoum, but it is a weak mandate, and must be renewed every six months. And so, while one may argue that providing better resources for the AU troops would provide an avenue through which to pursue peace in the Darfur region, there are several problems.
First, they are not in the Darfur region; second, they are unable to plan for the long term because they do not have the resources. Third, the AU mandate allows troops to protect humanitarian workers only. This means that, for example, if an AU soldier were to witness a Darfuri civilian being raped and beaten, he would not be able to defend that person under the mandate. Finally, should the AU prove effective, it is likely that the Sudanese government would not renew the mandate at the end of the next six month period. The likelihood of this last scenario would not likely occur anyway; the AU is VERY supported of national sovereignty, for reciprocity purposes.
[Note: Many of these statistics were provided by experts at the Failing, Failed & Fragile States Conference, held at the University of British Columbia in March, 2007.]
- sara
Filed under: FAQ - NAIA
We are not suggesting that Darfur is another Rwanda. We don’t have a situation where, as in Rwanda, 8,000+ people are being killed every day over a period of 100 days. There is less systematic cohesion in Darfur, but the conflict has been going on for over four years now. Additionally, according to Stephen Brown of the University of Ottawa, many people are dying from lack of food and water. This proves to be cyclical, for what options are left to a starving and displaced population, other than taking up arms?
What IS the same is that while many feel that something very wrong is happening in Darfur, like Rwanda, the international community is being caught up in a web of semantics and apathy, and is standing by as the number of innocent victims increases every day. This is another chance to follow through on international conventions in the face of humanitarian crisis, and nothing is being done.
- sara
