US GOVERNMENT MUST ADOPT
A “PEACE FIRST” POLICY TOWARDS SUDAN
A Joint Statement by Humanitarian NGOs Operational in Sudan
A “PEACE FIRST” POLICY TOWARDS SUDAN
A Joint Statement by Humanitarian NGOs Operational in Sudan
As international humanitarian organizations operational on both sides of the conflict in Sudan, we call attention to the mounting human cost of the military stalemate and absence of a serious peace process. Sudan has been devastated by war for 33 of the last 44 years. More than 2 million people, mostly civilians, have died during the last 18 years of the conflict; more than the combined casualties of the last decade’s conflicts in Bosnia, Rwanda, Somalia and Chechnya. In 1998 alone, an estimated 60,000 people died because of famine and famine-related diseases.
Millions of Americans support our longstanding commitment to relieve the suffering of all the people of Sudan affected by war, regardless of ethnic origin, political association and religious belief. We continue to deliver humanitarian assistance under the most difficult circumstances, often at great risk to our personnel in the field.
Continued humanitarian assistance is not the solution to the crisis of Sudan. The spending of $1 million a day by the international community to keep people alive from one day to the next over a period of years with no evidence of an end to the conflict makes no sense. Humanitarian aid can not, and must not, be a substitute for the political will necessary by governments to negotiate an end to the conflict. Bloodshed and human suffering in Sudan will be brought to an end only by a political solution through diplomatic means. The by-products of the conflict, such as chronic food shortages, massive population displacements, religious persecution and slavery, will begin to be ameliorated only after a just and sustainable peace is reached by warring parties in Sudan.
We call upon the Bush Administration to make ending the war in Sudan a foreign policy priority. We call upon the Bush Administration to exert vigorous diplomatic leadership in east Africa, using its influence with regional states, Sudanese parties and other governments to design a political framework that will help bring this conflict to a close and result in a just peace for all the people of Sudan.
To this end, we call upon the Bush Administration to:
· Craft a Sudan policy whose primary objective is an end to the conflict and a just peace for the Sudanese people.
· Forge a consistent policy approach in cooperation with Canada and concerned European, Middle East and African states.
· Commit to energetic leadership by the Secretary of State and high-level diplomatic support, including a possible high-level special envoy, with adequate financial resources to carry out a focused and sustained policy to negotiate an end to the war in Sudan.
· Increase humanitarian and development assistance to north and south Sudan, and seek to expand the means for its delivery to particularly hard-pressed areas, such as the Nuba Mountains. Better utilize development aid to promote democratic governance, create and sustain civil society institutions, and train civil leadership.
| Adventist Development and Relief Agency Silver Spring, MD American Refugee Committee Minneapolis, MN Baptist World Alliance McLean, VA CARE Atlanta, GA International Rescue Committee New York, NY | Lutheran World Relief Baltimore, MD Save the Children Westport, CT World Concern Seattle, WA World Relief Baltimore, MD World Vision Federal Way, WA |
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