Key Terms - Sudan

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People

al-Bashir, Omar: Current President of Sudan. Took power in 1989 after leading a coup d’état against the democratically elected government. In July 2008, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, or ICC, requested an arrest warrant for Bashir accusing him of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. 

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al Raman (Ali Kushayb): A notorious Janjaweed commander indicted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur in April 2007. Ali Kushayb was recently arrested by the Sudanese government. The Sudanese government has maintained that it will conduct its own trial of Kushayb.

Bassolé, Djibril: Joint United Nations/African Union Chief Mediator for Darfur. Bassole replaced United Nations Special Envoy Jan Eliasson and African Union Special Envoy Salim Ahmed Salim in July 2008, and became the primary mediator of the Darfur peace process.

Déby, Idriss: Current President of Chad, Déby rose to power in 1990 by overthrowing President Habré’s regime, aided by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. President Déby has since switched his allegiance to support the Darfur rebels, particularly the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a rebel group to which he has family ties.  Déby is of the Kobe Zaghawa ethnic group, and is from northern Chad. In 2005, Déby’s regime amended the constitution allowing him to run for a third term. The last several elections in Chad have been boycotted by opposition parties.

Garang, John: First Vice President of Sudan from January 9, 2005 to July 3, 2005. Garang was the charismatic former leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army who spent 22 years fighting for southern Sudan during the North-South civil war. He died in a helicopter crash on July 30, 2005.

Gosh, Salah: Director of Sudan’s National Security and Intelligence Services, Gosh has been accused by human rights groups of having a significant role in organizing the Janjaweed militias in Darfur. The U.S. government flew Gosh to the Washington to meet with CIA officials in 2005 to discuss intelligence sharing.

Gration, Scott: A retired Major General in the United States Air Force, appointed by President Obama as his Special Envoy to Sudan on March 18, 2009.

Haroun, Ahmed: Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs. From 2003-2005, Haroun was the Sudanese Minister of State for the Interior. In this position, Haroun led the Sudanese government’s brutal counter-insurgency campaign in Darfur, which included recruiting, funding, and arming the Janjaweed militias. In April 2007, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Haroun; he is wanted by the court for 20 counts of crimes against humanity and 22 counts of war crimes.

Ibrahim, Khalil: leader of the Justice and Equality Movement, or JEM, one of the main Darfurian rebel groups.

Kiir, Salva: First Vice President of Sudan and President of Southern Sudan. Salva succeeded John Garang following Garang’s death in 2005, and is currently the Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army.

Minnawi, Minni: Leader of a faction of the SLM/A and the only rebel leader who signed the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement, or DPA, with the Sudanese government. Minnawi has served as Special Assistant to President al-Bashir since the signing of the DPA.

Moreno-Ocampo, Luis: Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, or ICC. Ocampo opened an investigation into the Sudanese government’s role in the Darfur genocide in June 2005. In July 2008, Ocampo presented evidence to the court arguing that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir committed crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.

Qazi, Azraf: United Nations Special Representative for Sudan as of September 2007.

Williamson, Richard: President Bush’s Special Envoy for Sudan, appointed in January 2008.

Places

Abyei: An oil-rich area region on the boundary between north and south Sudan, roughly 500 miles southwest of the capital, Khartoum.  A volatile region with a history of conflict, Abyei played a key role in the north-south civil war in Sudan. In May 2008, the town of Abyei was destroyed by the Sudanese Armed Forces who displaced the entire civilian population and burned Abyei’s market and housing to the ground.

Chad:  Nation bordering Sudan to the west. Approximately 2 million Darfurian refugees currently live in eastern Chad. Chad and Sudan are also engaged in an ongoing proxy war.

Darfur: western region of Sudan, approximately the size of Texas; comprised of the states of North Darfur, South Darfur, and West Darfur.

El Fasher: The capital of North Darfur

Geneina: The capital of West Darfur

Nyala: The capital of South Darfur

Juba: The regional capital of southern Sudan.

Khartoum: The capital of Sudan, located in northern Sudan.

Kordofan: Region of Sudan lying between Darfur and Khartoum, consisting of two states: North and South Kordofan. South Kordofan is a new state that was created by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and it is a critical border area between northern and southern Sudan. Dissatisfaction with the implementation of the CPA in this region is leading to growing insecurity, and some analysts have warned of the threat of a conflict on the scale of Darfur in South Kordofan.

Southern Sudan: The southern region of Sudan has been partially autonomous since the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, or CPA. Salva Kiir is the President of the Government of South Sudan. A referendum on independence for Southern Sudan is set for 2011, but delays and problems in the preparation for the electoral process have already jeopardized this schedule.

Groups

Armed Groups

Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA): Rebel group trying to overthrow the Ugandan government. Operates in southern Sudan, Central African Republic, Congo, and Uganda. Led by ICC-indictee Joseph Kony.

Janjaweed: Nomadic Arabic-speaking African tribes organized by the Sudanese government to attack sedentary African tribes in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Justice and Equality Movement (JEM): A significant rebel group in Darfur, whose goal is regime change in Sudan. JEM began their rebellion against the Sudanese government in 2003, claiming marginalization of the Darfur region. Covert Chadian government support for JEM became overt in late 2005 after Chadian rebels backed by Khartoum attacked a strategic border post in Chad, thus beginning the proxy war between Chad and Sudan. In May, JEM launched a Chad-supported offensive on the Khartoum suburb of Omdurman, further escalating tensions between Chad and Sudan.  JEM has family ties to Chadian President Idriss Déby, and many of the rebels are from the same ethnic group as Déby, the Zaghawa.

Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF): The army of the Sudanese government. The SAF is responsible for carrying out the government’s counterinsurgency strategy in Darfur. With the aid of their proxy militias, the Janjaweed, they have orchestrated a campaign of mass murder, rape, forced displacement, and destruction of livelihood in Darfur.

Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A): A major rebel group in Darfur, who, along with JEM, has fought against the Sudanese government since 2003. As of the end of 2007, the SLM/A had split into three main factions, and several other smaller splinter groups. The SLM/A’s founder, Abdul Wahid, is a high-profile rebel leader respected by many internally displaced persons, or IDPs, especially among his Fur tribe. The other faction of the SLM/A is lead by Minni Minnawi.

Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army – (SPLM/A): Former southern rebel movement; now part of the Government of National Unity, together with the National Congress Party.

Political Parties

Government of National Unity (GNU): The current government of Sudan. The GNU is an alliance between the National Congress Party and the (former rebel) Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, and is a power sharing measure agreed upon in the 2005 peace talks that produced the CPA.

Government of South Sudan (GoSS): The semi-autonomous region of southern Sudan has its own government and army. Salva Kiir is the president.

Government of Sudan (GoS): The government of Sudan refers to the national unity government made up of the National Congress Party and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement. Omar al-Bashir is the current president.

National Congress Party (NCP): The political party of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

International Actors

African Union (AU): Intergovernmental organization of 53 African countries (all but Morocco), established in 2002 as a successor to the Organization of African Unity (OAS).

African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS): An AU peacekeeping mission focused on the Darfur region of Sudan. Deployed in 2004, AMIS became a joint UN-AU mission called UNAMID on December 31, 2007.

International Criminal Court (ICC): An independent, permanent court that tries individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The ICC was established in 1998 by the Rome Statute, signed by 106 nations. Sudan is not party to the ICC; neither is the United States. In July 2008, the ICC requested an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes.

United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID): A joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission focused on the Darfur region of Sudan. UNAMID took over from AMIS on December 31, 2007. Twenty-six thousand troops have been approved for UNAMID, but only just over 10,000 have deployed.

United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS): A United Nations peacekeeping mission deployed to Sudan in 2005 to support the Government of Sudan and the Government of Southern Sudan with the implementation of the CPA.

Peace Agreements and Processes

Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA): The agreement signed on January 9, 2005 between north and south Sudan that ended the 22-year-long civil war. Provides for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of government troops from southern Sudan and outlines wealth and power-sharing agreements between the two parties. It also provides for a 2011 referendum on independence for southern Sudan.

Abyei protocol: The Abyei Protocol is an element of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that establishes a special administrative status for Abyei and a process for determining the boundaries of this contentious, oil-rich region. The 2011 referendum will allow citizens of Abyei to decide whether to be a part of northern or southern Sudan.

Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC): The DDDC was created as part of the Darfur Peace Agreement. It was designed to be “a conference in which representatives of all Darfurian stakeholders can meet to discuss the challenges of restoring peace to their land, overcoming the divisions between communities, and resolving the existing problems to build a common future.”

Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA): Agreement between the SLM/A faction led by Minni Minawi and the government of Sudan, signed on May 5, 2006. Despite strong pressure from the international community, other rebel factions refused to sign. Shortly thereafter, these other groups intensified their campaign against the government. As a result, the DPA is widely seen as a failure.

US Sudan Policy Review: The Obama administration’s comprehensive review of United States policy towards Sudan, which was released on October 19, 2009. [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2009/oct/130672.htm]

Other useful terms

Fur, Zaghawa, Massalit: Three major Darfurian ethnic tribes. An alliance of Fur, Zaghawa, and Massalit political leaders and fighters formed several rebel groups (see above) and began attacking government outposts in Darfur in early 2003. In retaliation, the Sudanese government launched a brutal counterinsurgency campaign in Darfur with the help of Arab Janjaweed militias.

No-fly zone: An area in which designated aircraft are not allowed to operate. President Bush and a number of Darfur advocacy groups have called for enforcing a no-fly zone over the Darfur region to curtail Sudanese air force attacks on civilians.

Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): An IDP is a person who has been forced to leave his or her home for reasons such as religious or political persecution, war, or natural disaster, but has not crossed an international border. A refugee is someone who has crossed an international border. While this is a technical distinction, it can often have considerable meaning in international law and in an individual’s ability to receive humanitarian assistance. There are currently approximately 6 million IDPs in Sudan.

Responsibility to Protect (R2P): The concept that states have a primary responsibility to protect their own populations from genocide and other crimes against humanity. In 2005, the international community affirmed that it has a responsibility to act when governments fail to protect their own citizens. The responsibility to protect was affirmed by the United Nations in 2006 by UN Security Council Resolution 1674.

Targeted divestment: Targeted divestment is the practice of cutting off financial support to the government of Sudan by removing investments from companies doing business with the government of Sudan. The Sudanese government is highly dependent on foreign direct investment to fund its military and their counterinsurgency strategy in Darfur. Therefore, stopping investment in Sudan exerts pressure on the Sudanese government and hampers the military’s ability to continue their attacks in Darfur.