Sudan is a world away from Washington. And while American attention has been focused on the tumultuous events in Egypt, and the domestic crisis at home, Sudan continues to pose enormous challenges potentially eclipsed by other news.
After weeks of cautiously optimistic statements about progress toward dividing Sudan into two countries, the United States on Wednesday issued a sharply worded statement that Sudan's northern government faced "greater, more painful isolation" if it didn't take steps to stop raids that have killed many in the disputed Abyei region along Sudan's north-south border.
The warning comes just as the United States is determining whether to remove the northern Sudan government in Khartoum from its list of state sponsors of terror after the country's formal acceptance last month of the results of a referendum that will lead to Southern Sudan's independence in July. Meanwhile, thousands of Abyei residents are fleeing southward. Satellite images from the Satellite Sentinel project, co-founded by Sudan activist and actor George Clooney, show entire villages razed to the ground, including one settlement in which 300 huts appeared to have been burned after an attack Saturday.
Back in our nation's capital, Congress is fighting a battle of its own – over the U.S. budget and how to rein in spending. Caught in the crossfire is a small but powerful organization – the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) – which works actively on the ground in Sudan. The House voted to eliminate all funding for USIP while the Senate countermanded with a proposal to keep the international conflict prevention organization in business.
Lost in the debate is the question of what, exactly, USIP does in Sudan.
The answer: a lot.
The institute, created by Congress in 1984, works on practical solutions to preventing violence and managing conflict when it unfolds. For the last two decades, USIP has been working throughout Sudan to lessen tensions between rival groups and prevent violence, especially associated with elections and referenda. When the referendum on southern secession took place in January it was largely a peaceful process, despite many predictions to the contrary.
USIP has organized dozens of workshops in Khartoum, Juba, Darfur, Abyei and elsewhere to help civil society, youth, politicians, police and others to engage with each other in a neutral environment, to encourage better communication and understanding among parties who often meet in tense circumstances, and to strengthen conflict resolution practices in local communities.
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The institute has also facilitated discussions among policymakers in Juba and at the community level on how to improve access to justice and relations between the chiefs' and statutory courts. Sudan still suffers from mass atrocities in Darfur – a topic to which USIP has also devoted enormous resources.
There is no avoiding the reality that what happens in Sudan and its neighbors affects American security. From oil to the Suez Canal, to stability in Egypt or Libya, to potential instability in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia or Eritrea – these countries matter to America. How we deal with conflicts will not only change our own economic and political security, but will set an example for others.
There are significant risks of escalating tensions and renewed violence along Sudan's north-south border. The manner in which social, economic, and security relations across the border are managed at local and national levels could determine whether conflicts resume or peace is maintained. As Congress continues to wage partisan battles over budgets, let's hope we don't lose sight of the big battles with the potential to take so many lives.
Tara Sonenshine is executive vice president of the United States Institute of Peace.
