African Union’s Intervention in Sudan

Abstract

IntroductionAfrican Union (AU) since its creation has witnessed large scale violence and conflict in several member countries.1 Although violent conflicts in Africa are not new, they have drawn special attention due to the fact that they are more intense and extensive in scope, highly destructive, as civilian populations were targeted deliberately. It has produced large number of civilian victims, refugees and displaced persons. There have been gross human rights violations in these conflicts. Furthermore, owing to the fragility of African state boundaries, some intra-state conflicts have spilt over the borders and exerted pressure on neighbouring countries. For instance, the war in southern Sudan claimed more than two million lives. Violence in Africa has taken various forms ranging from genocide, as in Rwanda and Darfur beginning from 2003 till date, to interpersonal violence. Besides extremism in brutality, armed conflicts in Africa have also been characterised by warlordism, targeting of vulnerable groups, such as children, women and refugees, using children as soldiers, state sponsorship of violence, and war economies. In such situations a prompt and efficient regional organisation was required. AU as a regional organisation has shown proactiveness to solve violence and conflicts in Africa.Darfur Crisis emerged at the same time that AU was created. Moreover, the negotiations for peace to end two decades of civil war in the south was also reinvigorated. Thus, Sudan has provided an opportunity for AU to solve the crisis and establish itself as a major regional organisation. The African Union (AU) has been admirably engaged in the Darfur Crisis but has proved ineffectual, hindered by poor resources and a weak political will. Since 2004, the African Union's efforts have included the negotiation of a ceasefire, the deployment of a peacekeeping operation, the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), and the mediation of a peace agreement between the belligerents in the Darfur War.This article examines the overall role of the African Union as a negotiator for peace, as a peacekeeper and one that would end the conflicts in Darfur. It also discusses the role of AU as a facilitator of comprehensive peace agreement between the Sudanese Government and the Southern Sudanese Government. African Union since its inception has acted to bring peace and stability in Africa. Such actions have been strongly reinforced by 'African solution for African problems'. It views the Sudanese crisis from this perspective as well. But even after six years of active involvement in Sudan and particularly in Darfur AU has failed to bring sustainable peace, end to the atrocities and human rights violation against the civilians nor has it been able to disarm the 'janjaweed tribal militias'.2Background to Sudanese ProblemsThe Sudanese crisis is unique to the AU. It is the largest country in Africa in terms of area. And since independence it has been suffering from an acute crisis of national identity. In this war of national identity, millions of people have perished and more than 5 millions have been displaced. The Sudanese Government has faced a violent response from the regional rebel groups in the south, east and west. These rebels are at war with the government demanding a share in resources, self autonomy and equal rights as Sudanese.Presently, Sudan has the dubious record of the largest number of internally displaced people in the world. It is the result of civil war in southern Sudan and the Darfur conflict. A peace agreement was concluded to the former cause in 2005. At the same time Darfur conflicts erupted.The Darfur Conflict is one among the many conflicts arising out of the historical grievances of discrimination inflicted by the Government of Sudan. The present crisis emerged in early 2003 when non-Arab rebels from Darfur, frustrated with attacks on their land and convinced that their interests were not being represented in the ongoing peace talks between Khartoum and the southern rebels, launched a guerrilla war on government forces (ICG, 2004, I). …