Clooney, Prendergast, & Kumar Op-Ed on Rape in Darfur
George Clooney, John Prendergast, and Akshaya Kumar wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times entitled “George Clooney on Sudan’s Rape of Darfur.” In the piece, the authors discuss the current conditions in Darfur, in Sudan. IN the piece, they explain that the government under Omar al-Bashir is continuing to carry out various human rights abuses against those living in Darfur. In addition, the Sudanese government has put pressure on the peacekeeping mission to leave areas in the Darfur, which leads to an increased vulnerability of citizens in Darfur.
But despite the little information coming out of Darfur, there has been some information that is being made available. For example, Human Rights Watch reported on a mass rape in the village of Tabit. There are many reported cases of similar actions.
And yet, the authors point out that “Over time, international outrage has shifted away from Darfur. When change doesn’t come fast enough, attention spans are short — especially for places that appear to have no strategic importance. In the last two years, however, Darfur became important to the Sudanese government when major gold reserves were discovered in North Darfur, the region that includes Tabit.”
They also point out that it will be difficult to get a United Nations Security Council action, given the powers of Russia and China (Clooney, et. al, 2015).
Clooney, et. al. recommend that
First, international banks, gold refiners and associations like the Dubai Multi Commodities Center and the London Bullion Market Association should raise alerts for Sudanese gold and initiate audits to trace it all to its mine of origin to ensure that purchases are not fueling war crimes in Darfur. The gold industry has already adopted a similar approach to suppliers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Second, the international community has imposed sanctions unevenly and without sufficient enforcement to have a significant impact. The United States and other countries should expand sanctions and step up enforcement to pressure Sudan to observe human rights and to negotiate for peace. Most important, the next wave of American sanctions should target the facilitators, including Sudanese and international banks, that do business with the regime either directly or through partners.
It is necessary to continue to place a spotlight on what is happening in Darfur so that the Sudanese government does not get away with such crimes against humanity. What is sad is that given the rules of the United Nations Security Council, Russia, who argues for state sovereignty (all the while backing rebels in Eastern Ukraine), and China (who is one of the top importers of Sudanese oil), pose challenges to act through the UN. In addition, with the world observing other conflicts, there sadly is not much news on Sudan, unless one is speaking about the conflict in South Sudan (which itself is of course important). But the point is that there needs to be continued monitoring and attention to all areas of the world where human rights violations exist. This should take the form of human rights reporting, as well as other countries brining the issue up at the United Nations General Assembly. Moreover, other organizations such as the Arab League also have a duty to hold the Sudanese government accountable for such actions.
