Civil war in Sudan: the paradox of human rights and national sovereignty.

Civil war in Sudan: the paradox of human rights and national sovereignty. INTRODUCTION For more than a quarter century the countries of the Horn of Africa Horn of Africa,peninsula, NE Africa, opposite the S Arabia Peninsula. Also known as the Somali Peninsula, it encompasses Somalia and E Ethiopia and is the easternmost extension of the continent, separating the Gulf of Aden from the Indian Ocean. have served as a revolving door for refugees. Eritreans and Ethiopiansfled to Sudan and Somalia; Sudanese, to Ethiopia and Eritrea; andSomalis to Ethiopia. Djibouti received Somalis and Ethiopians. Eachcountry in the Horn, save Djibouti, has produced as well as hostedrefugees. Today, civil strife in Ethiopia and in the newly recognizednation of Eritrea has ended and those who fled, some as early as the1960s, are beginning to return home. In Sudan and Somalia, however,brutal civil conflict still continues. Large numbers of citizens fromboth these countries are internally displaced. Yet, because they havenot crossed an international border, they are not classified as refugeesand are refused the international protection granted those who do crossinto another country. Throughout the world more than 25 millioncivilians are internally displaced. The international community,including the industrial democracies as well as developing nationstates, is forced to grapple with to enter into contest with, resolutely and courageously.See also: Grapple the complex issue of conflict betweennational sovereignty and protection of the basic human rights of andhumanitarian access Humanitarian access is a specific legal term, referred to the ability by neutral humanitarian actors (such as the United Nations, the ICRC, and foreign or local NGOs), to enter an area during a conflict, to provide humanitarian aid as well as monitor and promote human rights. to the internally displaced. In 1991, in the wake of the Gulf War, while Kurds and Shi'iteMuslims fled Iraqi bombardments, the international community debated thelegality of any form of foreign intervention in the internal affairs Internal affairs may refer to: Internal affairs of a sovereign state. Internal affairs (law enforcement), a division of a law enforcement agency which investigates cases of lawbreaking by members of that agency ofa sovereign nation. Article 2 of the U.N. Charter clearly prohibits suchinterference: "Nothing contained in the present Charter shallauthorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which areessentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shallrequire the Members to submit such matters to settlement under thepresent Charter."(1) Arguing that some degree of interference wasjustified in the face of the potentially brutal genocide of a people,European Community leaders proposed intervention to create safe havensfor Iraqi Kurds under U.N. supervision in Iraq's northernterritory. The creators of the concept justified it as humanitarianintervention Humanitarian intervention is a principle in international customary law, referred to the armed interference in a sovereign state by another with the stated objective of ending or reducing suffering within the first state. based on the statutes of the 1948 Convention on thePrevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1948 and came into effect in January 1951. . In April 1991, intervention was justified and implemented. The U.N.Security Council Resolution 688 of 5 April 1991 condemned SaddamHussein's repression and called on the international community todo what was necessary to conduct relief operations. This resolution"for the first time in history determined that humanitariansuffering within a given member state was a threat to internationalpeace and security."(2) On 16 April, invoking Resolution 688, President Bush announced tothe nation and to the world: Consistent with United Nations Security Council's Resolution688, and working closely with the United Nations and other international relief organizations and our European partners, I have directed the U.S. military to begin immediately to establishseveral encampments in northern Iraq, where relief supplies for these refugees will be made available... and distributed in an orderly way.(3) With the president's announcement and the subsequentunilateral intervention by the United States United States,officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , the leaders of U.N. membernations ended the debate over whether the creation of such enclaveswould interfere in Iraq's internal affairs and nationalsovereignty. Clearly, with this U.N. resolution and the Gulf War,President Bush challenged the right of nations to absolute nationalsovereignty. However, neither principles for the bases and extent offuture interventions nor the means to be used were defined, as isevident in the cases of Bosnia, Somalia and Haiti. Today, the situation in Sudan challenges the internationalcommunity to act once more. For more than a decade, the sovereigngovernment of this nation has been set on a course of eradicating aparticular segment of its population. A principal weapon in this civilwar instigated by the government of Sudan (GOS) and followed by therebel factions of the Sudan People's Liberation Army Not to be confused with Sudan Liberation Movement in Darfur.The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and its political wing, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) – known collectively as Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement ( (SPLA SPLA Sudan People's Liberation ArmySPLA Secretory Phospholipase ASPLA Service Provider License Agreement (Microsoft)SPLA Southern Private Landlords Association (UK)) is thewithholding of food from civilian populations, an action which causesthem to flee to survive. The internal displacement "Internal Displacement" is episode 143 of The West Wing.C.J. realizes that she barely has any time left in office and decides to try and solve the (real world) crisis in Darfur, Sudan, along with the (fictional) crisis between Russia and China over Kazakhstan. of people and theinterference with food distribution is not a by-product of the war, butan intentional military strategy targeting civilians. Can theinternational community tolerate warring parties obstructinginternational relief? Can a government punish with impunity its peoplefor being who they are -- ethically, religiously or racially? Do othernations have a responsibility to act? Are there basic human rights suchas access to food, shelter, water, clothing and medical assistance thatcannot be violated, particularly when the denial of such rights is usedby a government to eradicate a segment of its population? Is there apoint beyond which a government cannot be permitted to go in abusingthose citizens it is bound to protect? Although Sudan generously opened its doors as wide as any countryin the world to more than a million refugees seeking asylum fromEritrea, Ethiopia, Chad, Uganda, Zaire and Somalia, a significantportion of its own population has not benefited from thegovernment's generosity. Laji, the Sudanese term for refugeemeaning "downtroden," does not apply to the more than fivemillion southern Sudanese who scattered to other parts of the country,fleeing a brutal 10-year civil war. Since 1983 (the second phase of amuch longer conflict), the predominantly Arab Muslim north has fought toimpose Islamic law Noun 1. Islamic law - the code of law derived from the Koran and from the teachings and example of Mohammed; "sharia is only applicable to Muslims"; "under Islamic law there is no separation of church and state"sharia, sharia law, shariah, shariah law and politics on the predominantly black, Christianand animist an��i��mism?n.1. The belief in the existence of individual spirits that inhabit natural objects and phenomena.2. The belief in the existence of spiritual beings that are separable or separate from bodies.3. south. hi this conflict, political, economic, religious,ethnic and racial issues are all intertwined. It is estimated that since1983 at least 1.3 million southern Sudanese noncombatants haveperished.(4) Background to Sudan's Civil War(5) Sudan is the largest country on the African continent and itsnationals are among the poorest and least literate in the world.Spreading over one million square miles, twice the size of Alaska, thevast majority of its 26 million people has lived with a per capitaincome Noun 1. per capita income - the total national income divided by the number of people in the nationincome - the financial gain (earned or unearned) accruing over a given period of time of less than US$400 per year for more than a decade, along withfloods, locusts and war battering both the country's fragileeconomy and the land. The war between the north and the south has beenparticularly devastating. Since independence from Britain in 1956, Sudanhas been embroiled in civil strife for 27 of its 38 years as a sovereignstate SOVEREIGN STATE. One which governs itself independently of any foreign power. . The 11-year hiatus from gunfire and military maneuvers occurredbetween 1972 and 1983. Like most of the civil conflicts on the African continent duringthe second half of the twentieth century, the roots of Sudan'scivil war lie in its colonial past. Egypt set the stage for animositiesbetween the predominantly Arab Muslim north and the minority AfricanChristian and animist south when it invaded and subdued Sudan in 1821.Under British tutelage TUTELAGE. State of guardianship; the condition of one who is subject to the control of a guardian. and funding, Egypt opened trade routes innorthern Sudan and paved the way for unprincipled plunderers to moveinto the south and take not only material goods and natural resources,but also humans whom they arrantly ar��rant?adj.Completely such; thoroughgoing: an arrant fool; the arrant luxury of the ocean liner.[Variant of errant. sold into slavery. The Anglo-British Condominium of 1898 effectively gave politicalpower in Sudan to the British. Fearing the spread of Islamic socialnationalization nationalization,acquisition and operation by a country of business enterprises formerly owned and operated by private individuals or corporations. State or local authorities have traditionally taken private property for such public purposes as the construction of to their other African colonies, the British formulatedseparate policies for northern and southern Sudan. The focus of economicdevelopment was in the north with the seat of government in Khartoum.(6)Under the "southern policy," however, the south was insulatedfrom the north and virtually ignored economically, politically andsocially. In fact, the British required outsiders to carry specialpermits to travel to the south.(7) What negligible attention Britaingave to health care, education and community development in the southcame through missionaries, whom the British encouraged. The Britishpromoted Christianity as well as the English language English language,member of the West Germanic group of the Germanic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Germanic languages). Spoken by about 470 million people throughout the world, English is the official language of about 45 nations. . While Arabculture and Islam united the north, tribal diversity precluded thethreat of a united opposition to British rule in the south.(8) Lack ofeducation among most of the southern people prevented development, andan absence of good transportation ensured isolation. But civil unrestprevailed throughout both north and south, and Britain eventuallyacceded to Sudan's push for independence in 1955. On 1 January1956, Sudan became a sovereign nation. The seeds of civil war between north and south, though, had alreadytaken root, and independence did not forestall its escalation. When theBritish "Sudanized" the government in 1953, only four postsout of 800 went to southern Sudanese. With independence in 1955, no moreadministrative positions were allocated to the south.(9) In fact, the north tried to impose both Islam and Arabic onSudan's southern population. Such actions were the immediate causeof the north-south conflict that finally broke out in 1955, afterfestering for years. Several hundred thousand Sudanese died andthousands fled to neighboring countries. The 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement Addis Ababa Agreement may refer to: Addis Ababa Agreement (1972), a peace agreement in the First Sudanese Civil War. Addis Ababa Agreement (1993), a peace agreement in the Somali Civil War. provided some peace, according the south limited regional autonomy withits own government and parliament. But the underlying hostility andintrusion by the Khartoum government into the constitutionally grantedpowers of the south remained an obstacle to recognized federation. Although Colonel Jafaar al-Nimeiri, who took power in 1969,achieved peace for a time, his actions renewed military hostilities in1983. During the 14 intervening years, Nimeiri launched ambitious -- andflawed -- development schemes, moving Sudan from socialistnationalization to western capitalism. Neither brought prosperity to thenation. Instead, the country plunged into an $8 billion debt,exacerbated in part by the 1973 to 1974 oil crisis. Total Sudaneseexports did not even meet the interest payments on the debt. While a fewpowerful Sudanese lined their pockets with gold, the majority went tobed hungry; much of the money intended for development was squandered.Nimeiri, who had intended to establish Sudan as the "bread basket bread basketan agricultural area, such as the U.S. Midwest, that provides large amounts of food to other areas. [Am. Hist.: Misc.]See : Farming of the Middle East," ignored all signs of an impending drought inthe mid-1980s. Ignoring both the economic plight of the nation and theextent of the 1984 to 1985 drought that took at least 250,000 Sudaneselives, he continued to plot grandiose schemes for development usinglow-cost petrodollar petrodollarNounmoney earned by a country by exporting petroleum loans. The southern Sudanese gained little from the plans of the Nimeirigovernment and remained deplorably underdeveloped. Indeed, thegovernment's attempts to exploit southern resources, which wouldthreaten its pastoral/agriculturist culture, was one cause of therenewed armed civil conflict. Nimeiri sought to place newly discovered,rich southern oil fields This list of oil fields includes major fields of the past and present. The list is incomplete; there are more than 40,000 oil and gas fields of all sizes in the world[1]. within the northern sphere of influence. Healso planned to construct the Jonglei Canal to divert waters from thesouth. Between 1980 and 1983 Nimeiri rescinded recognition of regionalautonomy in the south that had been formalized for��mal��ize?tr.v. for��mal��ized, for��mal��iz��ing, for��mal��iz��es1. To give a definite form or shape to.2. a. To make formal.b. in the Addis AbabaAgreement. Distrustful dis��trust��ful?adj.Feeling or showing doubt.dis��trustful��ly adv.dis��trust of a united south, he split the area into threeindependently governed regions and imposed Arabic as the officiallanguage. In response to the economic and political actions taken by theKhartoum government, a sizable number of soldiers from the southmutinied under the leadership of Dr. John Garang John Garang de Mabior (June 23, 1945 – July 30, 2005) was the vice president of Sudan and former leader of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army. Early years , a former Sudanese armycolonel and an agricultural economist with a doctorate from Iowa StateUniversity AcademicsISU is best known for its degree programs in science, engineering, and agriculture. ISU is also home of the world's first electronic digital computing device, the Atanasoff–Berry Computer. . They formed the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA)in conjunction with its political arm, the Sudan People'sLiberation Movement The People's Liberation Movement is a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. Its leader is Mr. Eric Hercules. The party was formed in 2006. (SPLM SPLM Sudan People's Liberation MovementSPLM Shielded Planar Layered Media ). Theirs was not a separatist movement as hadbeen true of the southern troops in the earlier civil war: Rather, thetroops under Garang sought full incorporation into a democratic nationthat recognized the rights and equality of all citizens. Suchrecognition would have to include the repeal of the Muslim shari'alaws, institution of a secular constitution and economic development ofthe south. Economic neglect by the Khartoum government and domination bythe northern Arab-Muslim majority were no longer acceptable to thesouth. In the eyes of Garang and the SPLA, shari'a denied fullcitizenship and relegated non-Muslims to second-class citizenship. The introduction in 1983 of the "September Laws" by theNimeiri government which imposed the strictest form of shari'a onboth the north and the south -- Muslim, Christian, and animist alike --in addition to the levy of Islamic taxes finally led to armed rebellion.Under shari'a a person could be stoned or flogged or sentenced tothe amputation amputation(ăm'pyətā`shən), removal of all or part of a limb or other body part. Although amputation has been practiced for centuries, the development of sophisticated techniques for treatment and prevention of infection has greatly of one or more limbs or even crucified for a multitude ofinfractions and crimes from consuming alcohol to murder. Acts that wereregarded as criminal by Islam might not have been so for adherents ofChristianity or traditional religions. Yet officially Islamic lawgoverned all the people. In 1985, after he had once again raised food and fuel prices, themilitary overthrew Nimeiri, who went into exile in Egypt. The people hadrisen in protest, particularly trade unionists, professionals, politicalactivists, farmers and intellectuals. Very soon the military gave way todemocratic government and Sudanese citizens voted into power a coalitiongovernment headed by Sadiq al Mahdi, who had led the Umma Party from1964 to 1969 and had been prime minister from 1966 to 1967. This wasSudan's first election in 17 years. In 1985, because of thecontinuing civil war, 36 of the 67 southern constituencies could notvote; subsequently, SPLA members refused to vote and as a result, thenorth dominated the government. The war and a worsening economy plagued Mahdi'sadministration. The two were intertwined, as the government divertedfunds allocated for social needs to finance the war. When he took officein 1985, Mahdi, his Umma Party and the Democratic Unionist Party This article is about the political party in Northern Ireland. For other parties with the name, see Democratic Unionist Party (disambiguation). The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP (DUP DUP(in Northern Ireland) Democratic Unionist Party ),a moderate party in the coalition government, favored settling the civilwar. In August 1986, while Mahdi and Garang negotiated a settlement, theSPLA shot down a civilian plane after the International Committee of theRed Cross "ICRC" redirects here. For other uses, see ICRC (disambiguation).The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. (ICRC ICRCabbr.International Committee of the Red CrossICRCn abbr (= International Committee of the Red Cross) → CICR mICRCn abbr ) had airlifted emergency relief into a government-heldtown. All 60 people aboard were killed. Negotiations ceased and the warescalated. Following the breakdown of negotiations, Mahdi shifted hisalliance from the DUP and joined forces with the National Islamic Frontof the Muslim Brothers (NIF NIFSee: Note issuance facility ), a fundamentalist faction in the coalitionunder the tutelage of Hassan al Turabi, who later said, "[T]he morepeople who die or flee the south, the weaker the SPLA becomes."(10)Together they pursued the war with greater vigor and enforcedshari'a more stringently. As Mahdi escalated the war, the SPLA and DUP leaders negotiated andsigned a peace plan in November 1988. The "November Plan"called for a cease fire 1. A command given to any unit or individual firing any weapon to stop engaging the target. See also call for fire; fire mission.2. A command given to air defense artillery units to refrain from firing on, but to continue to track, an airborne object. , the freezing of shari'a and aconstitutional conference of all parties in Sudan -- north and south,rebel and government. Favoring the objections of the fundamentalist NIFparty to the abolition of shari'a, the parliament rejected thepeace plan. In protest, the DUP bowed out of the government coalition. In 1989, Mahdi was under pressure from all sides. The army wasfighting a losing battle in the south, and the northern population wasprotesting the state of the economy. The United States, Sudan'sfinancial benefactor, threatened to withdraw support especially becauseof the media attention given to the massive starvation of people in thesouth and the use of food as a weapon by both sides in the conflict. Anoutraged American public called for President Bush and Congress towithhold funds and pressure the Khartoum government into allowing relieffood and medical supplies to reach all southern regions and negotiatingfor peace with the SPLA. Up to this point, the Mahdi government haddeliberately not requested famine relief A famine is a phenomenon in which a large percentage of the population of a region or country are so undernourished that death by starvation becomes increasingly common. In spite of the much greater technological and economic resources of the modern world, famine still strikes many for the south -- the strongholdof the SPLA. In the south, John Garang's forces controlled the countrysideand surrounded government-held garrison towns. The SPLA threatened toshoot down any planes attempting to airlift supplies to these towns.Government military forces issued an ultimatum: either supply the troopswith adequate personnel and arms to achieve victory or settle the warwith a peace agreement. Otherwise, the army determined, the primeminister should step aside. Mahdi decided to pursue peace. In March 1989, when the prime minister agreed to the 1988 SPLA andDUP "November Plan," the DUP and NIF reversed roles: the DUPreturned to the coalition government and the NIF walked out. Under nocondition would the NIF agree to the abolition of shari'a. NIFparty members would call for a revolution before submitting to an end ofIslamic law in Sudan.(11) The government of Sudan and the SPLA agreed toa cease fire and to a freeze on the imposition of shari'a. The plancalled for Mahdi to meet with Garang on 4 July 1989, with theconstitutional conference to convene on 18 September 1989. For some months leading up to the meeting between Mahdi and Garang,speculation of an imminent coup abounded. On 30 June 1989, in a militarycoup orchestrated by the NIF, Omar Hassam Achmed al Bashir became headof state. The little-known brigadier in the Sudanese military, aparatroops commander who fought in the south, stated that his toppriorities were to end the war and revive Sudan's failed economy.Unlike the military coup of 1985, led by General Abdel Rahman Suwar alDahab, who turned over his government to a democratically elected one,Bashir retained power for himself and his Revolutionary Command Council(RCC RCC - An extensible language. ) declaring himself prime minister, defense minister andcommander-in-chief of the armed forces. To ensure his hold on thegovernment, Bashir suspended the constitution, dissolved parliament,banned political parties, forbade civilian association meetings withoutgovernment permission, shut down the free press, declared a nationwidestate of emergency and set a curfew. The Sudanese people hoped that this government would indeed pullthe country out of its intractable economic chaos and civil war. As thenew ruler lashed out against government corruption, hoarding and blackmarketeering, he opened warehouses filled with goods held back from themarket to keep prices high. Anyone caught selling goods above thegovernment's official prices could be jailed. There was to be noleniency le��ni��en��cy?n. pl. le��ni��en��cies1. The condition or quality of being lenient. See Synonyms at mercy.2. A lenient act.Noun 1. . For a few weeks an abundance of goods flooded the market;people were able to buy sugar, kerosene keroseneor kerosine,colorless, thin mineral oil whose density is between 0.75 and 0.85 grams per cubic centimeter. A mixture of hydrocarbons, it is commonly obtained in the fractional distillation of petroleum as the portion boiling off for cooking and fuel for theirautomobiles. After the hoarded stores of supplies had been depleted, however,nothing remained to sell. The new government had done nothing either toturn around the economy with its inflation rate of 80 percent, or to endthe war. In fact, by November 1989, Bashir was determined to concludethe war by a military victory rather than the hoped-for negotiatedsettlement. Many businessmen, feeling they had no future in Sudan, leftfor other countries, while hundreds of thousands more southernerstrekked to northern cities or sought asylum in neighboring countries toavoid starvation. Sudan's debt rose to $13 billion and the war ground m at acost of more than $1 million a day. In Port Sudan Port Sudan(sdăn`), city (1993 pop. 308,195), NE Sudan, on the Red Sea. The country's major seaport, it handles the bulk of Sudan's foreign trade. , Sudan's onlydeepwater port m the Red Sea, transport trucks sat idle, loaded withessential goods but without fuel. The drivers lined up the trucks -- 50or 60 of them -- near fuel pumps. Night after night, they slept underthe flatbeds, hoping that a delivery of fuel would allow them totransport their goods to Khartoum. (Most of Sudan's imports arriveby sea and are carried by truck m the one tarmac road leading south toKassala, west through Gedaref and north to Khartoum. Without trucks, nocity could get supplies.) Food as a Weapon of War Under the leadership of first Prime Minister Sadiq Mahdi and later,Lieutenant-General Omar Bashir Omar Bashir can refer to: Omar al-Bashir, leader of Sudan Omar Bashir, an Assyrian musician http://www.amazon.com/Duo-Oud-Munir-Bashir/dp/B000024ZCV , the war in the south proved to be themost vicious and deadly on the African continent. Following the August1986 downing of the civilian aircraft by the SPLA, which had effectivelyhalted the airlift of relief supplies, Mahdi retaliated with a blatantand vengeful use of food as a weapon, and the SPLA reacted in kind. In1988 alone, more than 250,000 southern Sudanese died from starvation asthe military leaders on both sides refused to allow food to reachcivilian populations believed to be loyal to one side or the other. Thegreatest numbers of the dead were women, children and the elderly. Onehundred eighty thousand of the dead were said to be children.(12) Only afew thousand were members of the military. The scorched-earth tactics used by both the SPLA and the governmentmilitary also jeopardized food supplies. They burned villages andfields, frequently killing the villagers and stealing their cattle. Thenorthern-based government hoped that depopulating the south bydestroying its assets would bring victory. Throughout the south,displaced populations sought refuge, rarely finding it. Estimates in1988 reported up to 85 percent of Sudan's southern population asdisplaced.(13) Tens of thousands of the refugees who did reach southern towns likeAweil, Abyei, el Muglad, Wau, Juba and Torit did not find sanctuary orsustenance. In some towns the death toll was as high as 100 per day.Hospitals were empty structures without beds or medical supplies.Throughout the south, nearly one out of every five children died beforethe age of one. In many towns and villages virtually all children underthe age of three died. In one town with no vaccines available, almostevery child under five died during a measles epidemic.(14) In some instances where food was available, Arab merchants,unhampered Adj. 1. unhampered - not slowed or blocked or interfered with; "an outlet for healthy and unhampered action"; "a priest unhampered by scruple"; "the new stock market was unhampered by tradition"unhindered by the military, sold grain for as much as 400 to 1,000percent profit. Some parents resorted to selling their children eitherto procure food for themselves or with the hope that their childrenwould have access to some food. Civilians stripped leaves from trees andboiled them to stave off hunger. While tens of thousands died from starvation, both rebel andgovernment troops continued to obstruct the delivery of emergencyrelief. The warring parties blew up escorted convoys, held other convoysfor months before allowing them to proceed and frequently absconded withfood intended for starving civilians. While in power, Mahdi and hisgovernment denied there was a famine and refused Western relief workersaccess to war and drought stricken areas. The Uses for Western Relief Efforts In late 1988, the Western public realized through the media theextent of the massive starvation among southern Sudanese. At about thesame time the U.S. government and other donor nations pressured PrimeMinister Mahdi to change the course of the war. Sudanese government andSPLA leaders agreed that international relief efforts would be allowedin the war zones. Neither the SPLA nor the government were motivated byhumanitarian principles There are a number of meanings for the term humanitarian. Here humanitarian pertains to the practice of saving lives and alleviating suffering. It is usually related to emergency response (also called humanitarian response) whether in the case of a natural disaster or a man-made disaster in allowing the safe delivery of food tocivilians in war zones. Both sides to the conflict clearly agreed to acease fire for strategic reasons. The SPLA had gained a great deal ofterritory in the south. It needed to consolidate its gains and reviewits strategy to maintain its hold. The government's losses, on theother hand, spurred its troops to devise a new course of action.(15) In 1989 the United Nations Children's Fund United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF), an affiliated agency of the United Nations. It was established in 1946 as the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. (UNICEF) createdOperation Lifeline Sudan Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) is a consortium of UN agencies and approximately 35 NGOs (Non-governmental organizations) operating in southern Sudan to provide humanitarian assistance throughout war-torn and drought-afflicted regions in the South. (OLS OLS Ordinary Least SquaresOLS Online Library SystemOLS Ottawa Linux SymposiumOLS Operation Lifeline SudanOLS Operational Linescan SystemOLS Online ServiceOLS Organizational Leadership and SupervisionOLS On Line SupportOLS Online System ), an unprecedented humanitarian reliefeffort to both sides. Its operating principle was that no warring partyhad the right to deny humanitarian relief to noncombatants, no matterwhere they were located or by whom they were governed. Distribution ofrelief food and medicines required neutrality, open corridors anduninterrupted movement of goods. By early 1989, food and medicalsupplies began to reach the most devastated areas of southern Sudan.James Grant, who headed the program, remarked, "Never before havewe seen a situation of civil conflict where the two major parties agreedto one common plan of action and [have] gone on to agree to corridors oftranquillity down which relief convoys, unescorted, can passfreely."(16) While the cease-fire remained in effect between April and September1989, with donations of over $200 million, OLS delivered more than100,000 metric tons of food to hundreds of thousands of starvingpeople.(17) Its presence gave civilians a new sense of security, and insome areas with OLS supplying seeds, tools and animal vaccines, peoplebegan to plant and replenish their livestock. However, this period was short-lived. Massive and deliberatestarvation tactics resumed. As peace talks were about to convene in June1989, the government of Sudan bombed a U.N. plane as it delivered foodto Torit. Many speculated that the bombing was intended to sabotagepeace initiatives. By the end of June, Bashir had taken over power, andhe scuttled all peace initiatives. Once in power, Bashir's fundamentalist government, wary ofWestern political and religious influence through humanitarian activity,did all it could to hamper UNICEF and other non-governmentalorganization (NGOS NGOS Next Generation Operating System ) efforts to supply food and medicines to the south.Bashir banned OLS planes carrying relief supplies to rebel-heldterritory. Government troops and government-armed Arab tribal militiapillaged pil��lage?v. pil��laged, pil��lag��ing, pil��lag��esv.tr.1. To rob of goods by force, especially in time of war; plunder.2. To take as spoils.v.intr. relief trains. The government attacked or detained barges onthe Nile, denied relief workers travel permits and strafed U.N. and ICRCplanes. The SPLA retaliated by attacking relief operations as well astightening control of garrison towns filled with defenseless civilianhostages. In the end, OLS, the NGOs and ICRC could only be as effective asthe SPLA and the government allowed. Without their consent, reliefefforts faltered. Many areas simply could not be reached. Once again,villagers and townspeople in the south had only limited access to foodand medical assistance. In 1990, OLS had hoped to initiate a second phase of its operation,with an emphasis on development rather than just relief. With $118million and 103,000 tons of emergency relief food, it also sought todeliver seeds, tools and working supplies to allow Sudanese to feedthemselves in the less war-torn areas of the south. OLS intended toassist the Dinka, Nuer and other cattle-herding tribes to rebuild theirlivestock, and planned to implement programs of primary health care andto educate children. Instead, in 1990 and 1991, faced with severe war-and weather-induced famine (that threatened to be more intense than the1984 to 1985 Ethiopian famine), people, even in areas not directly underfire, abandoned their land and once again became supplicants to theinternational community. More than 11 million Sudanese from all parts ofthe country faced starvation, needing more than a million tons of grainto survive. OLS was powerless to move these supplies to those who neededthem. In addition to impeding delivery of assistance, General Bashir,like Mahdi, refused to acknowledge publicly that there was a foodshortage in the country. He boasted instead of advances inself-sufficiency among his people, and campaigned for more exports andfewer imports. He admonished the people: "Because we do not want tobeg for our food, and we do not want the relief agencies to humiliateour dignity, through you, the homeland and through your production, wewill rid ourselves of this bitter humiliation."(18) Bashir sold thelimited grain reserves to gain foreign exchange for financing the war.In the marketplace, the price of sorghum sorghum,tall, coarse annual (Sorghum vulgare) of the family Gramineae (grass family), somewhat similar in appearance to corn (but having the grain in a panicle rather than an ear) and used for much the same purposes. , a staple in the local Sudanesediet, rose 100 percent. Without the proclamation of a food emergency ora request for outside assistance by the recognized sovereign government,donors were forced to stand by with their hands tied. Under the guise ofnational sovereignty, the Bashir government could, and did deny asignificant portion of its population access to food relief assistance. In 1991, two events changed the course of the war and caused evengreater insecurity for southern Sudan's displaced civilianpopulation. First, Mengistu Haile Mariam Mengistu Haile Mariam(mĕnggīs`t hī`lē mär`ēəm), 1937–, military ruler of Ethiopia (1974–91). , the dictatorial leader ofneighboring Ethiopia, fell to Eritrean and Ethiopian rebel forces.Mengistu had willingly assisted and harbored Garang and his SPLA forces,but the new government forced both the SPLA and Sudanese civilians backacross the border. As these southern Sudanese made their way back intoSudan, Bashir's troops bombarded them, killing mostly civilianwomen and children. The second event was the splintering of the SPLA, first into twofactions and then into three. Riak Machar, Lam Akol and Gordon Kongbroke away first, forming the Nasir faction. This group charged Garangwith dictatorial rule and egregious human rights violations,particularly with impressing children into active military duty. Asecond faction headed by William Nyoun Bany, one of the SPLA founders,later united with the Nasir faction. Both splinter groups called forseparation of the south from the north. The political fracture of the SPLA created an ethnic break as well.Most of the troops loyal to Garang's Torit, or Mainstream, factionwere Dinka, while the Nuer comprised most of the Nasir, or United,faction. An ethnic war within a civil war pitted Dinka against Nuer, andits battles proved to be as brutal and savage as any between aonce-united SPLA and the government of Sudan. The only unchanging factwas that civilians remained targets in this internecine in��ter��nec��ine?adj.1. Of or relating to struggle within a nation, organization, or group.2. Mutually destructive; ruinous or fatal to both sides.3. Characterized by bloodshed or carnage. conflict. Bothsides ravaged the countryside -- killing cattle, destroying crops,poisoning water and razing villages. They uprooted hundreds of thousandsof civilians, raped women and young girls and massacred whole villages. Ultimately, although Bashir could, in effect, wait while the southdestroyed itself, he used the split in the SPLA to his advantage. In1992, during a massive dry-season offensive, government forces,replenished by Libya, China and Iraq, reoccupied lost territory insouthern Sudan. In addition, playing on the SPLA split, Bashir allowedfood assistance to reach areas controlled by Machar's Nasir factionand denied it to areas controlled by Garang's Torit faction.Bashir, thereby buttressed Garang's allegation that the Nasirfaction now sided with the government. With the escalation of fighting on the part of both the governmentand the SPLA factions, relief efforts came to a halt. None of thebelligerents now accepted the notion of food-aid neutrality. Intensefighting in April 1992 shut down the OLS neutral corridors used totransport food to millions of starving people. Government troopsattacked relief convoys moving north from Kenya into southern Sudan.Food was again used as a weapon of war in spite of a summit agreementreached among Horn of Africa nations in Addis Ababa early in 1992 -- andagreed to by Bashir -- prohibiting the use of food as a weapon bywarring parties. As the Bashir government reclaimed lost territories, it forced outNGOs, especially from areas with large displaced populations. The UnitedNations and the ICRC were not allowed to move barges or land planes todeliver relief supplies; when they did, the planes or barges were oftendelayed or looted. Airdrops became dangerous as both government andrebel forces fired on them. Travel permits became more difficult toobtain, particularly in drought-stricken areas. Without humanitarianpersonnel present in an area, neither the United Nations nor NGOs couldmonitor food needs or distribution, or report on famine conditions orhuman rights abuses. Without a U.N. or NGO NGOabbr.nongovernmental organizationNoun 1. NGO - an organization that is not part of the local or state or federal governmentnongovernmental organization presence, no foreignwitnesses reported on the fate of civilians caught in territorycontrolled by one or another party to the conflict. Bashir, in effect,could not be held accountable for abusing citizens he was bound toprotect. In 1992, some relief workers lost their lives in both governmentand rebel controlled areas. First, in early 1992 in Juba, agovernment-held garrison town, two nationals who worked for the U.S.Agency for International Development (USAID USAID United States Agency for International DevelopmentUSAID Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional (Spanish)) were executed. Then, inSeptember 1992, in the SPLA-held Nimule area just across the border fromUganda, three non-Sudanese relief workers and a journalist were killedin a skirmish between rebel SPLA factions. Humanitarian organizationsimmediately pulled their personnel from southern Sudan, leaving hundredsof thousands without access to relief or the security afforded by thepresence of foreign aid workers. Not until December 1992 did the government of Sudan and the SPLAgrant permission to foreign aid workers to return to 31 locations. Atripartite agreement between the government, the SPLA and the UnitedNations allowed the World Food Program (WFP WFP World Food Programme (United Nations)WFP Windows File Protection (Microsoft)WFP Water for People (international humanitarian organization)WFP Winnipeg Free Press ) and Operation LifelineSudan, which had significant funding from USAID, once again to providefood for civilians. WFP and OLS suspended food aid for several weeks tothe most desperate areas, however, when factional fighting between theNasir and Torit factions of the SPLA near Kongor broke out in March1993, and a WFP worker was accosted ac��cost?tr.v. ac��cost��ed, ac��cost��ing, ac��costs1. To approach and speak to boldly or aggressively, as with a demand or request.2. To solicit for sex. and injured. The Consequences of War and Famine In 1992 and 1993, Bor, Kongor and Ayod, towns in the southern UpperNile province, were known as "the hunger triangle," or"the triangle of death." It was in this area that some of themost brutal fighting took place between SPLA factions. Some civilianswho walked almost 100 miles for small amounts of food were described aspeople with thin, brown flesh stretched over white, protruding bones.Many men who met the planes to helpdistribute food were too weak tounload it. Hundreds of thousands of others did not have the strength totravel to a location where food was being distributed. Either theysurvived on leaves and insects or they died. There are no accurateestimates of how many thousands succumbed to war-inflicted death orstarvation. In some areas, few infants survived and as many as 81 percent ofchildren under five years of age were reported to be malnourished mal��nour��ishedadj.Affected by improper nutrition or an insufficient diet. , witha large percentage severely malnourished. Mortality rates were high. InAme camp, Ayod and Akon, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC See Control Data, century date change and Back Orifice. CDC - Control Data Corporation )delegation found that for children under five "the crude deathrates for the preceding 12-month period were 234,276 and 164 deaths per1000 persons, respectively."(19) In times of non-famine, the ratewould be 20 to 24 deaths per thousand. About half the deaths wereattributed to starvation. Others died from preventable causes: diarrhealdiseases, malaria, kala azar and meningitis. Uninterrupted and unimpeded unimpededAdjectivenot stopped or disrupted by anythingAdj. 1. unimpeded - not slowed or prevented; "a time of unimpeded growth"; "an unimpeded sweep of meadows and hills afforded a peaceful setting" access to food, medicines and vaccines as well as safe and sufficientwater supplies and well-maintained sanitation facilities would havelowered the mortality rate considerably. The CDC also reported negativeannual growth rates Growth RatesThe compounded annualized rate of growth of a company's revenues, earnings, dividends, or other figures.Notes:Remember, historically high growth rates don't always mean a high rate of growth looking into the future. in the areas they visited. Deaths outnumberedbirths.(20) The civilian population was denied more than access to food andmedicine: Because of ongoing insecurity, very few children received eventoken education. During the dry season, there were efforts to holdclasses under trees, but students and teachers lacked supplies -notebooks, pencils, textbooks, etc. Once the rainy season arrived, thechildren were no longer able to attend classes because they had no roofover their heads.(21) A generation of children, tens of thousands ofthem orphans, are in jeopardy. Today, there is no area where civilians feel secure. They do notknow when they will be forced to flee once more or when their foodpipeline will be interrupted. Life remains extremely fragile forcivilians in southern Sudan. In August 1993, government forces launchedair strikes in areas south of Juba. The fighting was some of theheaviest in the war. Tens of thousands of civilians crossed intonorthern Uganda. Others scattered to areas in the south where thegovernment had not cut off the delivery of reliefsupplies. At that time in these areas, including "the hungertriangle" and the Nimule area, civilians, who months before were indanger of death by starvation, now flourished because the governmentallowed the resumption of relief distribution. Near Ayod, for example,relief food was airdropped in a field filled with human skulls andbones, the remains of civilians who months earlier had starved to death.By November 1993, however, the government of Sudan once again deniedflight clearance to the Nimule area, placing tens of thousands ofcivilians in peril, and insecurity in Ayod impeded the delivery ofadequate assistance. Intensified government bombings in other areasfurther jeopardized civilian safety. In October 1993, Garang and Machar met in Washington, D.C., knowingtheir internecine fighting was crippling their common objective againstthe Bashir government. With the chairman of the U.S. House ofRepresentatives Subcommittee on Africa, Congressman Harry Johnston ofFlorida, and the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs,George Moose, they hammered out an eight-point document known as the"Washington Declaration."(22) They recognized that theconflict between them must be "resolved through peaceful anddemocratic means" and agreed on "an immediate cessation ofhostilities and international monitoring" of the agreement. Whilethey determined to "oppose the policies of the NIF government inKhartoum," they also resolved to "cooperate and facilitaterelief work in areas where people are affected by war, famine anddisease. " Most importantly, they agreed "on the right ofself-determination for the people of southern Sudan, Nuba Mountains andmarginalized areas."(23) On this point, Garang and Machar set asidetheir own strong persuasions for either a unified, secular nation or twoseparate nations. At the signing, however, Machar insisted he could not sign theagreement as long as Garang was cited as Chairman and Commander-in-ChiefSPLM/SPLA, while Machar was qualified as Commander-in-ChiefSPLM/SPLA-United. He wanted "Mainstream" attached toGarang's title to indicate their equality and their differences.Nonetheless, the meeting was a breakthrough for the rebel leaders. The two rebel leaders were to continue to Atlanta to meet withformer President Jimmy Carter, who hoped to solidify theirreconciliation. Garang, however, returned quickly to southern Sudanbecause the Bashir government had reacted to the agreement betweenGarang and Machar with a new military offensive.(24) Unless and until there is a negotiated and permanent peace betweenthe government of Sudan and the SPLA and between SPLA factions,civilians will continue to run from massacres, bombings and starvationand lose their lives and their livelihood in southern Sudan. INTERNALLY DISPLACED IN KHARTOUM Since the renewed outbreak of conflict in 1983 between the northand the south, southern Sudanese sought refuge in the south and inneighboring countries. In addition, almost two million fled north toKhartoum, Sudan's capital, and to Port Sudan and outlying areas inother northern provinces in Sudan. In Khartoum, tens of thousands settled in unplanned areas of thecity by poking sticks into the dry ground and covering them withdiscarded burlap bags, empty cardboard boxes or whatever they could findin the surrounding garbage dumps. Many of the approximately 100 squattercamps ringing the capital were built on garbage dumps. They housed asmany as 10,000 to 100,000 civilians with no water, sewage, electricityor easy access to roads. There were no schools, primary health carecenters, medicines or vaccines. Using food as a weapon of war was not unique to the south. Food andwater also served as powerful instruments of control in the northerncities as the Khartoum government manipulated access to food and waterfor more than two million southern Sudanese who had fled to northernurban areas. Bashir made water almost impossible to obtain, and when hedid allow food to be distributed, none was to be allotted for males ofany age under any conditions. Squatters were not allowed to dig deep wells in any of thesettlements. They were occasionally permitted to dig shallow ones, butthat water was easily contaminated and spread disease within the camps.The further away from the heart of the city refugees were forced tolive, the more expensive the water carried out by donkey carts. Peoplein the camps rarely drank the 12 liters per day the World HealthOrganization (WHO) recommended. The government also rid the cities of unwanted southern Sudanese byrounding-up and forcibly removing the internally displaced. Mahdi andBashir both justified their actions by invoking the nationalconstitution prohibition on freedom of movement in cases of"reasons of security and public health."(25) When southernersfirst began arriving in large numbers, the government feared not onlythe formation of rebel forces inside the capital, but also thecontamination of Khartoum, the "pure" Arab and Islamic capitalof Sudan. Neither leader had any desire to recognize the heterogeneityof the country. Southerners practiced customs which violated the Islamicshari'a, such as the brewing of homemade beer or turning toprostitution in order to survive; they provided the Khartoum governmentthe justification to push them out. Often, the government prosecuted theoffenders and destroyed entire settlements, forcing the relocation oftens of thousands. Since 1990, the Sudanese government has forced nearly 750,000southern Sudanese from their Khartoum squatter settlements to areas farbeyond the city and far less hospitable. Some who resisted resettlement Re`set´tle`mentn. 1. Act of settling again, or state of being settled again; as, the resettlementof lees s>.The resettlementof my discomposed soul.- Norris. were killed. Relief organizations still do not have access to the newcamps. Following the coup, Bashir monitored all humanitarianorganizations much more closely in their work with refugees andinternally displaced. Unable to exist in the new locations since 1991,many of the southern Sudanese have returned to settlements in Khartoumas yet unmarked for destruction by the government, or to the south wherewar and famine are rampant. FORCED MOVEMENT OF THE NUBA MOUNTAIN PEOPLE Since 1990, when the SPLA moved into northwestern areas in theTransition Zone between north and south Sudan, the ethnic Nuba peopleliving in the Nuba mountains became a particular target of the PopularDefense Force (PDF (Portable Document Format) The de facto standard for document publishing from Adobe. On the Web, there are countless brochures, data sheets, white papers and technical manuals in the PDF format. ), Arab militia armed by the Bashir government. Whilethe Nuba people are all African, they include as many followers of Islamas of Christianity and other traditional religions. As the SPLA moved into their area in Southern Kordofan province,many Nuba joined the SPLA principally to preserve their African identitythat was threatened by growing Arabization. PDF attacks against the Nubaare singularly brutal and tens of thousands of Nuba have been forciblyrelocated to droughtstricken areas in Northern Kordofan province, forcedto undergo Arabization and Islamization.(26) The Sudanese governmentcontends that it is creating "peace villages" in this area forNuba "returnees" from the SPLA. However, U.N. officials whowere allowed in 1992 to visit a few of the "villages"described them more as heavily-guarded prison camps.(27) The forcedmovement and massacre of the Nuba people to rid the area of SPLA forcesand sympathizers is a form of "ethnic cleansing." Thekillings, torture, rapes and enslavement en��slave?tr.v. en��slaved, en��slav��ing, en��slavesTo make into or as if into a slave.en��slavement n. continue unobserved because theBashir government will not allow outsiders, including relief workers andjournalists to enter the area. The Role of the International Community and Sudan'sNational Sovereignty So far, all efforts towards peace between the government of Sudanand the SPLA have failed. The government of Sudan and the Garang factionof the SPLA met twice in 1993 in Abuja, Nigeria. Bashir insists onpreserving Sudan's Islamic identity while Garang insists on theformation of a federated or confederated secular state. While theyequivocate e��quiv��o��cate?intr.v. e��quiv��o��cat��ed, e��quiv��o��cat��ing, e��quiv��o��cates1. To use equivocal language intentionally.2. To avoid making an explicit statement. See Synonyms at lie2. , critical issues such as power sharing and resourcedevelopment are not discussed. The U.S. Congress, European governments,the U.N. General Assembly and the U.N. Human Rights Commission allcondemn the government of Sudan for its human rights abuses. Due tointernational pressure on both parties to achieve a negotiated peaceagreement, they meet, but with little commitment to resolving theirdifferences. If Bashir agrees to talk or to a cease fire, he does so in anattempt to improve his government's image before the internationalcommunity. Garang uses the extra time to address the needs of theinternecine conflict within the SPLA. The security of civilians is notparamount for either side in the conflict. Yet the needs of civilians,especially women and children who are most affected by thislong-standing war, must be addressed, if not by the parties to theconflict, then by the international community. The international community must present new strategies, increaseU.S. commitment to determine and deliver relief to suffering civiliansand protect them from the carnage of war and an abusive government.Relief operations like OLS and WFP in Sudan must have unlimited anduninterrupted access to civilians in war zones. If a government or arebel group denies such access, it is the responsibility of the globalcommunity to assure the protection and distribution of humanitarianassistance to civilians whose lives are at risk. If other actions, likediplomatic persuasion, imposing economic sanctions and embargoes andpressuring a government to take action on behalf of its population areineffective, outside intervention may be the only recourse in. ensuringthat a government permits the unimpeded flow of relief and protectsnoncombatants. Civilian security goes beyond the delivery of relief. The people ofsouthern Sudan need more than the assurance of safe corridors for reliefsupplies. They need secure areas in which to live. Noncombatants have aright to security, food, shelter and medical assistance; they also havea right to maintain themselves by growing crops and tending livestock.This can be achieved by creating demilitarized zones agreed to by allparties to the conflict and monitored by U.N. peacekeepers. Withincreased humanitarian assistance in demilitarized zones, people canplant seeds, revitalize herds and begin to sense some stability andsecurity. Any infringement on or impediment to free movement to theseareas by the government of Sudan or SPLA factions should beappropriately and swiftly dealt with by multinational U.N. forces.Unless the waning parties know that action on their part to breech breech(brech) the buttocks. breechn.The lower rear portion of the human trunk; the buttocks.breech, britchthe buttocks of an animal; the backs of the thighs. thedemilitarized zones will carry certain penalties, they have no incentiveto honor the security of these zones. Until very recently, world powers tended to accept and maintain thesacrosanct sac��ro��sanct?adj.Regarded as sacred and inviolable.[Latin sacrs sovereignty of nations. In maintaining such a principle, theworld community watched as humanitarian priorities were devalued de��val��ue? also de��val��u��atev. de��val��ued also de��valu��at��ed, de��val��u��ing also de��val��u��at��ing, de��val��ues also de��val��u��atesv.tr.1. To lessen or cancel the value of. anddiscounted the responsibility of governments to protect the people theygovern. Professor Aristide Zolberg cautioned, "States may assertthat sovereignty is absolute, but we don't have to believethem."(28) While sovereignty is a principle worth upholding,irresponsible sovereignty is not. The collective human rights of peopletranscends absolute sovereignty, particularly a sovereign governmentthat is abusive.(29) In this post-cold War world, the international community isbeginning to look more critically at the sacrosanct dimension ofsovereignty. Nations are now increasingly accountable in adhering tohumane values(30) and dealing equitable treatment to citizens especiallyin a world where internal civil strife, based on ethnic, religious,tribal or linguistic differences is more common than internationalconflict. This is true in the former Yugoslavia, Somalia, formerrepublics of the Soviet Union This article is about the constituent republics of the Soviet Union. For other uses, see Soviet Republic.In the final decades of its existence, the Soviet Union consisted of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics (SSR , Peru, Guatemala, Sudan and others in themore than 50 conflicts being fought around the globe. Civilians are themost vulnerable. In the First World War, 95 percent of the casualties ofwar were combatants; 5 percent were civilians. Today, 90 percent of thecausalities of war are civilians, while 10 percent are combatants. Recently, the United States has changed its attitude toward what ishappening in Sudan. During the Cold War, particularly during the reignof the Soviet-oriented Haile Mariam in Ethiopia, Sudan remainedstrategically important to U.S. foreign policy objectives in the region.Despite clear knowledge of the violation of human rights by the Sudanesegovernment, particularly within the Bashir regime, the U.S. governmentsupported Sudan until Bashir sided with Iraq during the Gulf War in1991. Even then, it was the political and strategic interests ratherthan considerations of Sudan's humanitarian responsibility to itspeople which changed the U.S.-Sudanese relationship. In late 1993, the United States government took a positive step inappointing Ambassador John A. Burroughs, Jr. as the Department ofState's Special Coordinator for Sudan. From Washington, Khartoumand Nairobi, the Special Coordinator, complimenting Ambassador DonaldPetterson's efforts, closely monitors humanitarian activities inthe south and pressures all parties to arrive at a negotiated peace.Hundreds of thousands of southern Sudanese may be spared if Sudanbecomes a priority for the U.S. government and the internationalcommunity. The United Nations, too, is dealing with the complex issue ofnational sovereignty and the protection of basic human rights of andhumanitarian access to, the internally displaced. Specifically forSudan, the U.N. Secretary-General appointed a Special Envoy forHumanitarian Affairs to Sudan to galvanize gal��va��nize?tr.v. gal��va��nized, gal��va��niz��ing, gal��va��niz��es1. To stimulate or shock with an electric current.2. donor nations to respond moreactively to Sudan's severe humanitarian crisis and to pressure thegovernment of Sudan and the SPLA factions to assure the unhindered unhinderedAdjectivenot prevented or obstructed: unhindered accessAdverbwithout being prevented or obstructed: he was able to go about his work unhinderedanduninterrupted movement of humanitarian assistance. More broadly, a U.N. Commission on Human Rights resolutionrequested the Secretary-General to appoint a representative "toseek from all governments views and information on human rights issuesrelated to internally displaced persons and to examine existinginternational human rights mechanisms, the applicability of humanitarianand refugee law and standards to the protection of displaced persons,and the provision of relief assistance to them."(31) Francis M.Deng, a Sudanese national who has served as his country'sambassador to Canada, Scandinavian countries and the United States andMinister of State for Foreign Affairs Minister of State for Foreign Affairs is a junior ministerial position in the British government. Ministers of State for Foreign Affairs 1945-19681945: William Mabane 1945-1946: Philip Noel-Baker 1946-1950: Hector McNeil 1950-1951: Kenneth Younger , was appointed that representativeand presented a study on the subject to the Forty-ninth Session of theU.N. General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights. Deng approaches his current work in a United Nations which hasupheld the national sovereignty perspective even in the face of blatantabuses of human rights by governments like China under its presentregime, Kampuchea under Pol Pot and Uganda under Idi Amin By January 1971, Milton Obote, then President of Uganda, was prepared to rid himself of the potential threat posed by Idi Amin. Departing for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at Singapore, he relayed orders to loyal Langi officers that Amin and his supporters in the . Clearly, too,U.N. membership comprises nation states that cherish and guard theirnational sovereignty, many fearing that outside intervention might giveway to renewed colonialism. U.N. organizations go into other countriesby invitation only. Sudan is a case in point. In 1988, OperationLifeline Sudan entered Sudan with government sanction and did notnegotiate directly with the SPLA. OLS operated in both rebel- andgovernment-held territories only with permission from the Khartoumgovernment. Sudanese sovereignty controlled humanitarian operationswithin its borders, although rebels controlled most of the nation'ssouthern regions and civilians were in critical need of emergencyrelief. It was unprecedented that both government and SPLA officialspermitted OLS to create tranquil corridors through which relief couldreach the most vulnerable in southern Sudan. This arrangement lastedonly as long as both sides were willing to maintain secure and unimpededaccess. As time passed, the movement of relief supplies to distressedareas was disrupted and food again became one of the most powerfulweapons used in the war. Deng will focus on developing a mandate for the protection of theinternally displaced within U.N. organizations such as there exists forrefugees in the mandate of UNHCR UNHCRn abbr (= United Nations High Commission for Refugees) → ACNUR mUNHCRn abbr (= United Nations High Commission for Refugees) → HCR m. But he will go further in addressingthe far-reaching implications that a new approach to sovereignty brings.If a sovereign state cannot or does not live up to its responsibilities,what then is the responsibility of the international community? If,ultimately, intervention becomes necessary, who determines thatnecessity and who intervenes? Will unilateral intervention such as U.S.intervention into Iraq be the norm, or will a multilateral, collectiveaction under U.N. aegis be more acceptable? What will be the role of theUnited Nations in the formation and command of multilateral peacemaking PeacemakingSee also Antimilitarism.Agrippa, MeneniusCoriolanus’s witty friend; reasons with rioting mob. [Br. Lit.: Coriolanus]Antenorpercipiently urges peace with Greeks. [Gk. Lit. and peacekeeping forces? Once intervention occurs, will troops belimited to assuring the protection of basic human rights andhumanitarian access to the internally displaced, or will they becommissioned to bring order and stability to a war-ravaged nation and tore-initiate the process of nation-building?(32) There are and will bemore nations like Sudan, Somalia and Bosnia where the needs of theinternally displaced must be addressed. And, as necessary studies onissues involving internally displaced people caught in civil conflictcontinue, the international community cannot forget that at this momenttens of thousands are dying or fleeing like those in southern Sudan.Their needs must be addressed before a definitive study is completed,and new principles and guidelines are legislated. CONCLUSION Globally, we are on the threshold of a new era. Although the ColdWar wreaked havoc in the world, it was predictable in its instability.The post-Cold War era, on the other hand, is neither stable norpredictable. Civil conflicts such as the one in Sudan will continue intothe future. With these changes, the international community also has anopportunity to create a new era. Because of its position among theworld's nations, particularly among the industrial democracies withthe capacity to act cooperatively, and because of its commitment to theadvancement of human rights, the United States can and must take thelead. It can begin by exchanging the paradigm of "superpower"for one of "leadership." Real leadership will draw othernations together in collective action to ensure the prevention of moreSudans around the world. In the interest of collective action, governments which comprisethe United Nations have the opportunity to create the organizationenvisioned by its founders. Its divisions and branches must bereorganized and reshaped to work together for the good of the whole. Asthe United Nations addresses issues such as national sovereignty and theneeds of internally displaced civilians in nations caught up in civilstrife, it can reexamine re��ex��am��inealso re-ex��am��ine ?tr.v. re��ex��am��ined, re��ex��am��in��ing, re��ex��am��ines1. To examine again or anew; review.2. Law To question (a witness) again after cross-examination. mandates and adapt them to present needs. Itcan examine how various bodies within the United Nations coordinateactivities or vie for limited resources. In addition, donor nations mustbe willing to provide funds to facilitate competent and effective U.Naction in the multitude of operations it is called upon to perform. To achieve these goals in a new era and to insure that nationalsovereignty will not be abused will take uncommon moral will,indomitable in��dom��i��ta��ble?adj.Incapable of being overcome, subdued, or vanquished; unconquerable.[Late Latin indomit spirit, and substantial, purely humanitarian funding. Theworld cannot afford politically, strategically or morally to actotherwise. It is vital to national interest and to the peace andsecurity of the world that the collective human rights of people withinnation-states transcend absolute national sovereignty. (1.) Taken froman editorial by Sir Brian Urquhart, "Sovereignty vs.Suffering," New York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times (17 April 1991) p. A23. (2.) Francis M.Deng and Larry Minear, The Challenges of Famine Relief: EmergencyOperations in the Sudan (Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution Brookings Institution,at Washington, D.C.; chartered 1927 as a consolidation of the Institute for Government Research (est. 1916), the Institute of Economics (est. 1922), and the Robert S. Brookings Graduate School of Economics and Government (est. 1924). 1992)p. 124. (3.) "Excerpts from Bush's News Conference: ReliefCamps for Kurds in Iran," New York Times (17 April 1991) p. A12.(4.) Millard Buff, "A Working Document: Quantifying Genocide in theSouthern Sudan 1983-1993" (Washington, DC: U.S. Committee forRefugees, October 1993) p. 2. (5.) Judy Mayotte, Disposable People?: ThePlight of Refugees (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1992). Portions of thisarticle are based on material from the book, pp. 243-78. (6.) AristideR. Zolberg, Astri Suhrke and Sergio Aguayo, Escape From Violence:Conflict and the Refugee Crisis in the Developing World (New York:Oxford University Press, 1989) p. 50. (7.) Frederick Cuny, Barry N.Stein and Pat Reed, eds., Repatriation RepatriationThe process of converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country.Notes:If you are American, converting British Pounds back to U.S. dollars is an example of repatriation. During Conflict in Africa andAsia (Dallas, TX: Center for the Study of Societies in Crisis, 1992) p.391. (8.) In Sudan, with a population of 26 to 28 million, 590 tribesare grouped into more than 50 major ethnic groups. Of the population, 40percent is Arab and 60 percent Muslim. (9.) Africa Watch Report, Denying"The Honor of Living": Sudan, a Human Rights Disaster (NewYork: The Africa Watch Committee, 1990) p. 13. (10.) Burr, p. 7. (11.)Robert Press, "In Sudan, Protesters Hope To Force End To CivilWar," Christian Science Christian Science,religion founded upon principles of divine healing and laws expressed in the acts and sayings of Jesus, as discovered and set forth by Mary Baker Eddy and practiced by the Church of Christ, Scientist. Monitor International (20 December 1988) p.7. (12.) Lance Clark, "Internal Refugees--The Hidden Half,"U.S. Committee for Refugees: World Refugee Survey 1988 in Review(Washington, DC: American Council for Nationalities Service, 1989) p.18. (13.) Roger Winter, "In Sudan Both Sides Use Food as aWeapon," Washington Post (29 November 1988) p. A25. (14.) AfricaWatch Report, pp. 119-24; Burr, pp. 27-35. (15.) Deng and Minear, p. 90.(16.) Robert Press, "Historic Food-Relief Effort," ChristianScience Monitor (7 June 1989) p. 6. (17.) Deng and Minear, pp. 84-85.(18.) Millard Burr, "Sudan 1990-1992: Food Aid, Famine, andFailure" (Washington, DC: U.S. Committee for Refugees, May 1993) p.4. The quote was taken from Radio Omdurman, 1715 GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) See UTC. GMT - Universal Time 1 , 4 February 1990.(19.) David Bassett, Barbara Herwaldt and Carlos Alonso,"Assessment Visit to Southern Sudan: A Consultation Conducted by aTeam from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Noun 1. Center for Disease Control and Prevention - a federal agency in the Department of Health and Human Services; located in Atlanta; investigates and diagnoses and tries to control or prevent diseases (especially new and unusual diseases)CDC (CDC)"(Atlanta: 14 April 1993) p. 6. The consultation was conducted on behalfof USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance The Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) is the office within USAID responsible for directing and coordinating U.S. Government relief assistance overseas. This office is within the USAID Bureau of Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA). in March 1993.(20.) ibid., p. 7. (21.) The Women's Commission for Refugee Womenand Children The Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children is a non-governmental organization based in New York City that works to improve the lives and defend the rights of refugee and internally displaced women, youth and children around the world. , "Tired of Running," (New York: March 1992) pp.5-6 and 11. (22.) "An Agreement Missing a Signature Is Still WorthSomething," Sudan Democratic Gazette (November 1993) p. 2. (23.)ibid., p. 3. (24.) ibid., pp. 2-3; "Sudan: The South StrengthensIts Hand," Africa Confidential, 34, no. 22 (5 November 1993) pp.5-6. (25.) Millard Burr, "Khartoum's Displaced Persons: ADecade of Despair," U.S. Committee for Refugees Issue Brief(Washington, DC: U.S. Committee for Refugees, 1990) p. 3. (26.) FrancisM. Deng, Protecting the Dispossessed: A Challenge to the InternationalCommunity (Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution, 1993) p. 69. (27.)Burr (May 1993) p. 27. (28.) Quoted in Roger P. Winter, "The Yearin Review," The U.S. Committee for Refugees World Refugee Survey1992 (Washington, DC: American Council for Nationalities Service, 1992)p. 4. (29.) Deng (1993) p. 14. (30.) Expounded, for example, in suchdocuments as The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Universal Declaration of Human RightsDeclaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. Drafted by a committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, it was adopted without dissent but with eight abstentions. ,A/810 (UnitedNations, 10 December 1948); International Covenant on Economic, Social,and Cultural Rights, A/6316 (United Nations, 16 December 1966);International Covenant an Civil and Political Rights, A/6316 (UnitedNations, 16 December 1966) (cited in Deng, p. 5.); The GenevaConventions of 1948 and subsequent Protocols; as well as human rightsdeclarations peculiar to specific nations or regions. (31.) Deng, p. 2.(32.) ibid. The author deals with these questions throughout the study.