Genocide All Over Again In Darfur?

On April 26, 2023, British Parliamentarians published a report looking at the situation in Darfur, 20 years after the genocide in the region of Sudan. The report is launched as the situation in Sudan has been deteriorating following clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by General Abdel Fatah Al Burhan, and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti) which quickly spread to other parts of the country. As reported by the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on April 25, 2023, “At least 450 people have been killed – including four members of the United Nations family. More than 4,000 people have been injured, and tens of thousands have fled their homes. Reports from Khartoum paint a devastating picture. People are trapped indoors, terrified, with dwindling supplies of food, water, medicines and fuel. Health services are near collapse, and according to the World Health Organization, several hospitals are being used by armed groups. Across the country, there are reports of armed clashes. People have fled their homes in Blue Nile and North Kordofan states, and across Darfur.”

The instability and violence in Khartoum add to the dire situation in Darfur. Since December 2020, Darfur has seen violence flaring up, especially violence along ethnic lines. As British Parliamentarians indicated, this has been “causing concerns about repeating previous patterns of extreme violence in the region.” This violence in the region is said to have been increasing during the early part of 2023 and again in April 2023, as fierce fighting broke out in Khartoum. This wave of violence is highly concerning 20 years after the Darfur genocide which saw over 2.5 million people displaced, 300,000 to 400,000 killed, and many more injured. On September 9, 2004, Secretary Colin L. Powell testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee to confirm that the evidence collected suggested: “A consistent and widespread pattern of atrocities: Killings, rapes, burning of villages committed by Janjaweed and government forces against non-Arab villagers. (…) This was a coordinated effort, not just random violence.” Such past atrocities are a crucial indicator and risk factor of future atrocities and 20 years after the 2003 genocide, the future may have arrived. Similarly, impunity for past atrocities is a crucial indicator of future atrocities.

As reported by British Politicians, “the new waves of violence include killings, the use of rape and sexual violence, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, the use of child soldiers, and attacks on internally displaced person camps, among others. These crimes have all hallmarks of atrocity crimes and embody early warning signs of further atrocities.” Commenting on the report and recent developments in Sudan, Lord Alton of Liverpool, a peer at the U.K. House of Commons, said that “The current situation in Sudan is born out of the failed responses to the atrocities in Darfur over the last 20 years. This is something we should remember every time we dare to think that we can neglect the issue of justice.”

Twenty years after the Darfur genocide, there are concerning reports that the atrocities from 2003 may be repeated. These reports must be taken seriously by the international community and acted upon, in line with the legal duty to prevent genocide and the political commitment of the Responsibility to Protect. As it is clear from recent developments in Khartoum, the chances of addressing these concerns without pressure and assistance from the international community are slim.