Foreign Policy Blogs

Darfur Update

It's hardly news now – but the biggest Darfur story over the holidays was definitely this piece by the always-excellent Nicholas Kristof. Kristof lays out a set of serious actions the United States emissary to Sudan has been proposing to President Bush, and argues President-elect Obama should consider them immediately. Among the proposed actions:

* Jamming all communications in Khartoum;
* Pressuring, and eventually blockading, shipping in and out of the Port of Sudan;
* Targeting the Sudanese Air Force.

As Kristof put it, “Those are incredibly serious steps, with grave repercussions… But then again, genocide is pretty serious, too.”

Of course, the current Administration is unlikely to take drastic action in its last few weeks in office. However, it is conducting a critical airlift of equipment to peacekeepers.

Darfur is, obviously, just one of many international crises the new Administration will inherit – but in terms of consequences for the people on the ground, it may have the highest stakes. Michelle at StopGenocide thinks we’ve picked the right Secretary of State for the job. If Michelle is right, the serious action Kristof advocates may be just weeks away.

Meanwhile, the international community's attempts to leverage Sudan to stop the genocide so far appear to be failing; Sudan is refusing to undertake domestic prosecutions of Ahmed Haroun and Ali Kushayb. The government does appear to think the ICC will finally confirm an indictment against Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, but some segments of the international community arewilling to rally around the Sudanese leader; the Gulf Cooperation Council and Jordanian Bar Association have already expressed their support for al-Bashir.

Of course, the International Criminal Court has little track record. If the Haroun, Kushayb, and (eventually) al-Bashir indictments wind up ignored by the international community, it will seriously damage the credibility of a court that has not yet established any credibility. In that sense, the Chief Prosecutor has taken a significant gamble on the indictments. If it pays off, the Court's stature and ability to fulfill its mandate will be enhanced, and three major sources of instability and suffering in Sudan will be removed. If it fails, the Court's stature – and his own credibility with the international community – will suffer.

 

Author

Arthur Traldi

Arthur Traldi is an attorney in Pennsylvania. Before the Pennsylvania courts, Arthur worked for the Bosnian State Court's Chamber for War Crimes and Organized Crime. His law degree is from Georgetown University, and his undergraduate from the College of William and Mary.

Area of Focus
International Law; Human Rights; Bosnia

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