Ensuring Peace in Sudan
November 30, 2005
Peace remains elusive in Sudan. The rebel movement in Darfur is fractured and peace negotiations in Abuja have failed to produce an agreement. Across the country, millions are displaced and need humanitarian assistance. Though the government of Sudan and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) have made progress toward implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), they are behind in several areas. The US government can use its influence to help speed the implementation of the agreement and quell the resurgence of violence in the Darfur region and the brewing conflict in the East.
Sudanese women can play a central role in building lasting peace. Unfortunately, they remain a woefully underutilized resource. They offer skills, expertise, and perspectives that are desperately needed. Women are already reconciling conflicting parties, providing humanitarian services, and building government transparency. Policymakers should leverage their expertise to resolve the conflict in Darfur and implement the peace agreement.
Both the government of National Unity (GNU) in Khartoum and the still-forming government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) explicitly committed to include 25% women in the new governing structures. These commitments have not been fulfilled. The US government has not pushed aggressively for compliance, notwithstanding that women’s empowerment is one of USAID’s strategic objectives.
Take Action!
The US government can pressure Sudanese political leaders to promote women’s involvement. As the US expands its presence in Sudan, Congress can create legislation that supports Sudanese women leaders and can urge the Administration to make women’s inclusion a priority.
Here are two sample actions that you and your Member can take:
- Call Administration officials and urge them to press Sudanese leaders to include women in the Abuja negotiations and to appoint women to decision-making positions in the GNU and the GOSS. Suggest that USAID fund a women’s caucus and provide capacity building for women parliamentarians from the North and the South.
- Draft a sign-on (“Dear Colleague”) letter to the President and the Secretary of State demanding that they take the actions in point one.
In your calls and letters, ask Administration officials the following questions:
- Given that women’s empowerment is a stated US government priority in Sudan, what is the Administration doing to ensure that the GNU and the GOSS live up to their specific commitments to include women in the implementation of the CPA?
- What is the Administration doing to press the parties to the Abuja negotiations to include women in their delegations and to ensure that women are fully included in all efforts to forge a comprehensive peace process in Darfur?
Please contact the persons listed below.
We commend Congress for its commitment to resolving the crisis in Sudan. We hope that you will take action to press for the inclusion of Sudanese women in peace building. Please let us know if you have any questions or would like more information. We will be happy to provide you with talking points and a sample letter.
Sincerely,
Evelyn Thornton
Policy Associate
The Initiative for Inclusive Security
(Formerly known as Women Waging Peace)
2040 S Street NW, Suite 2
Washington, DC 20009
email: Evelyn_Thornton@huntalternatives.org
phone: 202.403.2006
fax: 202.299.9520
www.womenwagingpeace.net
Contact:
President of the United States, George W. Bush
Telephone: 202.456.1414
Fax: 202.456.2461
Email: President@whitehouse.gov
Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice
Telephone: 202.647.9572
Fax: 202.647.2283
Deputy Secretary of State, Robert Zoellick
Telephone: 202.647.9641
Email: zoellickrb@state.gov
Special Representative for Sudan, Roger Winter
Telephone: 202.647.6115
Fax: 202.647.6115
Email: winterrp@state.gov
Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer
Telephone: 202.647 4440
Fax: 202.647 6301
Senior Representative on Sudan, Charles Snyder
Telephone: 202.647.4531
Fax: 202.647.4553
Email: snyderc@state.gov
Coordinator, Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization, Carlos Pascual
Telephone: 202.663.0307
Fax: 202.663.0329
Email: pascualce3@state.gov
Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Africa, Lloyd E. Pierson
United States Agency for International Development
Telephone: 202.712.0500
Fax: 202.216.3008
Email: lpierson@usaid.gov
Director, Office of Transition Initiatives, David C. Taylor
United States Agency for International Development
Telephone: 202.712.0962
Fax: 202.216.3524
Email: dtaylor@usaid.gov
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