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Save Darfur Coalition (Washington, DC)

Sudan: U.S. Presidential Candidates Answer Questions on Darfur

Enough Action Fund, the Save Darfur Coalition and the Genocide Intervention Network

30 September 2008

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The Khartoum regime has repeatedly violated its international obligations with respect to the CPA—including failure to remove its forces from South Sudan, refusing to accept the final judgment of the international arbitrators of the Abyei Boundaries Commission with respect to that disputed territory, and depriving the Government of South Sudan (GOSS) of resources by cheating it of its agreed-upon share of oil revenues—with almost no consequence. This impunity must end, not only for its own sake, but because no peace accord is likely to be reached for Darfur if those involved in that conflict see that there is no political will to back up the international guarantees to the CPA.

The first step to any realistic peace process for all of Sudan is ensuring that the peace accords already on the books with respect to South Sudan are honored. That includes the right of the citizens of South Sudan to determine whether or not to continue within Sudan itself. If history is any indication, Khartoum will resist any moves to secede, despite having conceded the possibility in the CPA. Consequently, the only way to avoid bloody conflict is if the South Sudanese possessed a credible deterrent, albeit not necessarily an offensive capability, against aggression, including an air defense system to protect themselves against raids like the ones which continue to take place in Darfur. The US should take the lead in working with the UN, AU, neighboring states and other interested parties in jumpstarting a stalled peace process.

Obama: It is imperative that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 be implemented in full. I will appoint a senior special envoy for all of Sudan who will have the staff and resources to fulfill the mission. One of my envoy’s top priorities will be to ensure the effective implementation of the CPA.

With respect to Darfur, my administration will work with regional leaders and the international community to try to rekindle the peace process. Coupled with this must be a renewed effort to bring the rebel factions together into a negotiating process. Ending the genocide in Darfur through a combination of pressures on Khartoum, full deployment of UNAMID, and negotiations with all stakeholders, as well as successfully implementing the CPA, will be high priorities in my administration.

With regard to the CPA, the United States cannot take its eye off the ball, allowing implementation to stall while international attention is focused in Darfur. Both issues clearly relate to Khartoum’s unwillingness to share power with all of the Sudanese people. Consistent work on both issues, simultaneously, will be far more effective than focusing on one crisis at the expense of the other. The US should also press for the unrestricted deployment of UNMIS forces in South Sudan to Abyei to help prevent the resumption of the war in that fragile region where tensions are rising.

When I am president, the United States will not dodge its responsibilities, and I will insist that other nations do not dodge theirs. The United States will lead the international community, but others must share the burden. We must invest more in our alliances, in international institutions, in peacekeeping, in foreign assistance, and in prevention.

In the future, the U.S. needs to exercise far greater foresight, maintaining energized, high-level diplomatic efforts to prevent conflict and crisis rather than merely reacting to it, often inadequately, after catastrophe has struck. As the alarming situation in Somalia today makes plain, standing by while order deteriorates and desperation takes hold is never a viable policy, even when engagement is tremendously difficult. Working to combat pervasive corruption, government-sponsored repression, and utter decay in state institutions before conflicts emerge and spiral out of control won’t be easy, but it will save lives. Poverty and declining GDP per capita also substantially increase the risk of civil conflict. In Africa, as elsewhere, we must confront the economic as well as political drivers of conflict. Promoting good governance and poverty reduction are security imperatives, which deserve far greater U.S. attention and investment.

4. The National Sudanese elections agreed to in the CPA are scheduled to take place shortly after your inauguration in 2009. While you are putting a new administration together, how will you ensure that Sudan holds free and fair elections and that these occur in a timely fashion?

McCain: The 2009 elections are a critical benchmark in the lead up to the 2011 referendum to allow South Sudanese self-determination. The US government must actively support a free and fair 2009 election. Yet elections, while commendable insofar as they are free and fair, are not ends unto themselves. They must be embedded in a democratic process which is in itself credible and which includes the building of representative institutions, enhancing good governance capacity, strengthening civil society, and fostering a culture of freedom. Unfortunately, indications are not encouraging. There is reliable evidence of manipulation by the Sudanese government during the recent national census, including credible reports that some Southern Sudanese villages near the border between the two regions being counted in the North, while others were left off the maps used for the exercise and thus went uncounted altogether. Meanwhile in Darfur, continuing violence and massive population displacements undermine the legitimacy of any poll results which might be forthcoming.

While my administration will support the election process and demand that international observers be permitted free access to monitor the polling, we must reserve judgment until the voting is concluded. The current Sudanese regime should certainly not be allowed to be the beneficiary of a set of tragic circumstances it has set in motion.

Obama: It will take a concerted diplomacy, and pressure, to ensure that these elections genuinely reflect the will of the Sudanese people. This challenge will have the attention of senior officials, including my Secretary of State. We will work assiduously to ensure that Khartoum abides by all of its commitments starting from the day we enter office. I will direct U.S. agencies to work closely with the UN as well as our partners in Europe and the AU to make sure that these elections occur as planned. This critical activity must continue, and the United States and other international actors must consistently signal that we are interested not just in elections, but in credible, free and fair elections.

Many domestic and international institutions are actively planning for the elections, including conducting a census, clarifying or passing laws regarding political parties and the conduct of the election, working on voter registration, civic education, and training of election monitors and polling agents, and confirming the election date. The U.S. is already supporting some of these efforts, and my administration will continue to do so. I will direct the State Department, USAID, and other relevant agencies to produce promptly a strategy for ensuring we are doing all we can to support the timely conduct of these elections.

The challenges to free and fair national elections in Sudan are many. I am concerned about indications that the Khartoum regime may be planning to instigate violence and instability in the run-up to elections in an attempt to disrupt or call them off. The government of Southern Sudan has also shown signs it could call for a delay because of concerns about the census and the participation in elections of large numbers of Southerners still displaced in Northern Sudan. And the conflict in Darfur raises doubts about the participation of citizens there. Under such circumstances it will take concerted diplomacy and pressure to ensure that these elections go ahead as planned and are as fair, representative, and genuinely reflective of the will of the Sudanese people as possible.

Sudan must know that the world will be watching these elections closely. The Sudanese government must be prepared to respect the will of the people of Sudan. I urge all sides to avoid violence as we get closer to the elections.

5. China is a major supporter of Sudan; it buys roughly two-thirds of Sudan’s oil and has invested $7 billion in infrastructure projects. How would you engage with China’s leaders to ensure that China uses its leverage with Khartoum to help end the genocide in Darfur and promote a just peace in Sudan?

McCain: China’s leaders need to understand that they cannot separate their country’s legitimate aspirations for an international standing commensurate with its economic achievements of recent years from the consequences of the policies they have adopted in Sudan. They need to recognize that theirs will not be viewed by the international community as the “peaceful rise” which they claim as their goal if it is accomplished through a partnership with a regime whose hands are stained with the blood of its own citizens.

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