Africa Action (Washington, DC)
21 July 2005
press release
Africa Action today expressed outrage at the misplaced priorities of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her first visit to Sudan. This morning's fracas between Sudanese security officers and Rice's entourage has generated greater attention and indignation from U.S. officials and international media than has the ongoing genocide in that country that has claimed more than 400,000 lives in the past two years.
According to Africa Action, Dr. Rice's visit to Sudan should be assessed in the context of three competing U.S. foreign policy priorities - (1) support for the newly formed government of national unity as part of the North-South peace process, (2) ending the genocide in Darfur, and (3) collaboration and intelligence-sharing with the Sudanese government as part of the so-called 'War on Terror'.
Salih Booker, Executive Director of Africa Action, said, "Dr. Rice's juggling of these three U.S. interests reveals that, for Washington, stopping genocide is the least important issue, promoting the North-South peace process ranks higher, while the most important, but least discussed, U.S. priority in Sudan is collaboration with the genocidal regime for larger geo-strategic purposes."
Nearly one year ago, the Bush Administration first declared that the international crime of genocide was occurring in Darfur and that the Sudanese government was responsible. Since that time, the U.S. has sponsored weak resolutions at the United Nations, criticizing Khartoum while imposing no sanctions, and has provided humanitarian aid and limited logistical support for an African observer mission.
Ann-Louise Colgan, Director of Policy Analysis and Communications at Africa Action said today, "The U.S. persists in passing the buck to the African Union (AU) in Darfur, even as Dr. Rice expresses frustration at the slow pace of the AU's expansion of its mission. Instead of dodging its own responsibility to help stop the genocide, the U.S. should prioritize the urgent needs of the people of Darfur. The U.S. must take immediate action to form a multinational intervention force to expand upon the limited AU effort and with a mandate for civilian protection."
Marie Clarke Brill, Director of Public Education and Mobilization at Africa Action, said today, "Dr. Rice is the most senior U.S. official to travel to Darfur since her predecessor Colin Powell visited Darfur last summer. Like Powell, Dr. Rice exhibits the same dangerous naivete in relying upon the authors of genocide to protect their own victims. Her visit will make no difference on the ground. As Dr. Rice calls for 'action not words' from the Sudanese government on Darfur, the U.S. is failing to match its own words with urgent action to stop the genocide in western Sudan."
As Secretary Rice concludes her first official trip to Africa, which included a hurried stop in Senegal, Africa Action's Booker said, "The Secretary of State visited every region of the world in her first months in office, and Africa came last. Not only that, Dr. Rice is cutting short her first trip to the continent as America's foreign policy chief to travel onward to Israel and the West Bank. This sends a clear signal that the Middle East is more important in her eyes, and Africa - the land of her own ancestors - is at the very bottom of the U.S. foreign policy agenda."
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