Press Releases

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Contact: Tracy Fehr, tfehr@enoughproject.org, 202-741-6288

Washington –The International Contact Group on Africa’s Great Lakes region should focus the efforts of its meeting later this week on enacting strong consequences and accountability measures against the Congolese government for recent electoral fraud, coordinating assistance for military justice reform in Congo, creating a multilateral negotiation process for an international conflict-minerals certification scheme, and generating more troops, robust intelligence, and transport capabilities to assist in the fight to end the LRA, according to a new Enough Project report.

“In the wake of the recent elections in Congo, the Great Lakes Region is at a cross-roads,” says Aaron Hall, Enough Policy Analyst and co-author of the report. “The massive irregularities in Congo’s recent elections, coupled with an increasingly illegitimate government, are causing many Contact Group members to rethink their relationship with Congo in regards to assistance, development, and investment. This forum provides a real opportunity for improved coordination and engagement in the Great Lakes Region. To this end, the group is perhaps one of the best-suited bodies to reform donor nations’ policy in the region.”

 The Contact Group, a body which consists of representatives from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the European Union, and the United Nations, has met on a regular basis since the early 2000’s to focus on political, diplomatic, security, and development issues in the Great Lakes region of Africa. They will meet in Washington, D.C. on February 9 and 10.

The new Enough Project report, “The International Contact Group and Steps Towards Stability in the Great Lakes,” presents key policy recommendations that the Contact Group should adopt to further promote peace, development, security, and economic diversification in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.

With the meetings attended by representatives possessing in-depth knowledge of both the diplomatic world and the realities on the ground, the Contact Group provides a unique opportunity for key donor countries to coordinate regional policy, according to the Enough Project.

“The Contact Group has an opportunity to finally end the 25 year-long Lord's Resistance Army conflict,” says Ashley Benner, Enough Policy Analyst and co-author, “Supplementing the U.S. military advisors deployed in the region, it should secure more capable troops from the four affected countries or other nations, provide much-needed intelligence and logistical capabilities, and pursue a two-tiered defection strategy that gets commanders and rank-and-file fighters to leave the LRA.”

Recent developments in the region including the fraudulent Congolese elections, the continued deterioration of security along the Rwandan/Congolese border, and the deployment of U.S. military advisors to the region to end the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, have brought significant shifts to the political landscape of the Great Lakes.

Read the full report “Recommendations for the International Contact Group on the Great Lakes Region”

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Enough is a project of the Center for American Progress to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Founded in 2007, the Enough Project focuses on crises in Sudan, eastern Congo, and areas of Africa affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Enough’s strategy papers and briefings provide sharp field analysis and targeted policy recommendations based on a “3P” crisis response strategy: promoting durable peace, providing civilian protection, and punishing perpetrators of atrocities. Enough works with concerned citizens, advocates, and policy makers to prevent, mitigate, and resolve these crises. For more information, please visit www.enoughproject.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Matt Brown, mbrown@enoughproject.org, +1-202-468-2925

WASHINGTON – U.S. military advisors have a real chance to end the Lord’s Resistance Army conflict, but only if the Obama administration and European countries help them with more intelligence and transport support, according to a new Enough Project paper.

The report, based on interviews in Uganda, Congo and Washington in December and January, argues that more African special forces and a real strategy to encourage LRA defections, and improved regional cooperation are also needed to end one of Africa’s longest running and most brutal conflicts.

“This is the best chance in a decade to finally end the mass atrocities of the Lord's Resistance Army,” said Sasha Lezhnev, Enough policy analyst and author of the report. “But unless the U.S. military advisors are backed by strong military support and a new defection strategy, the mission will likely fail. A small investment in transport helicopters and intelligence support would go a very long way. President Obama should also call on African allies to supply additional special forces troops to help locate Joseph Kony.”

Led by Joseph Kony, an internationally indicted war criminal, the LRA is notorious for kidnapping children and chopping off limbs of victims in four Central African countries. Launched as a rebel group in northern Uganda, the LRA has since terrorized civilians in DR Congo, South Sudan and Central African Republic.

“If the LRA lies low, it is not because they are weak,” Lezhnev said. “It is because they are strategically playing a waiting game for the US troops to leave, as they have done with other military operations in the past.”

For the mission to succeed, the U.S. advisors should stay in the field for a significant amount of time and be buttressed by greater military, transport, and intelligence support and efforts to encourage defections.

President Obama sent 100 U.S. military advisors to central Africa in August to aid regional militaries in their fight against the LRA. Uganda launched an offensive against the LRA in 2008 that failed to eliminate Kony or end the LRA scourge.

Read the full report: “Ensuring Success: Four Steps Beyond U.S. Troops to Ending the War with the LRA."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Matt Brown, mbrown@enoughproject.org, +1-202-468-2925

Allyson Neville-Morgan, neville@endgenocide.org, +1-202-368-9387

WASHINGTON – A coalition of human rights groups sent a letter today to Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, calling on the U.S. government to take a leading role in planning a cross-border aid operation into Sudan to ensure delivery of much needed food and medicine to vulnerable populations in the war-torn South Kordofan and Blue Nile States.

The groups, which include the Enough Project, American Jewish World Service, United to End Genocide, Jewish World Watch, Investors Against Genocide, Stop Genocide Now, and Act For Sudan, said the U.S. should continue diplomatic efforts to open aid access to the region while at the same time consider delivering aid to the region without Khartoum’s permission.

“If donor governments do not act, Sudanese people will die of malnutrition and disease,” said John Prendergast, co-founder of the Enough Project. “The regime in Khartoum continues to use starvation as a weapon with no international consequence. The U.S. should lead in countering these abhorrent war tactics by breaking the blockade, demanding full access throughout Sudan, and holding accountable officials who continue to starve people as a means of holding onto power.”

Khartoum, in its war with SPLM-N rebels in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, has attacked civilians, indiscriminately bombed populations, and used starvation as a weapon. The result has been a deterioration in the humanitarian situation which could become a famine in the coming months. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network warns that conditions in the two states are anticipated to reach emergency levels by March. This is one level short of famine.

“An unnatural disaster is now threatening to claim the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people in Sudan through starvation and disease,” said Tom Andrews, President of United to End Genocide. “Once again, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the same man wanted for genocide in Darfur, is responsible. We cannot sit idly by as people starve to death from this Bashir-made catastrophe.”

The U.S. has a long history of providing cross-border aid without Khartoum’s permission. From the mid-1980s, a number of NGOs delivered U.S. assistance to areas throughout South Sudan and border areas in the North where the Sudanese regime attempted to obstruct humanitarian access. These efforts saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Similar cross-border operations in the 1980s supported by the U.S. government saved countless Ethiopian lives when the regime in Addis Ababa blocked aid access.

“Right now, we must be doing everything we can so that food can reach those on the brink of famine,” said Ruth Messinger, president of American Jewish World Service.

The coalition of human rights organizations said they understand the concerns of some aid organizations that Khartoum will respond by denying access to Darfur, where the situation is deteriorating. The U.S. government should take into account the need for continued humanitarian access in Darfur in devising a comprehensive plan to ensure the timely delivery of humanitarian aid to civilian populations in the areas of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, the groups said. Consequently, measures should be taken to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access and protection of humanitarian workers is also prioritized in Darfur and all over Sudan.

Read the full letter.

Satellite Sentinel Project Press Release

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Contact: Jonathan Hutson, jhutson@enoughproject.org,  +1-202-386-1618

WASHINGTON – Satellites monitoring flashpoints in Sudan’s border region of South Kordofan caught an apparent artillery barrage, in a visually striking image released by the Satellite Sentinel Project (SSP). The DigitalGlobe satellite image, analyzed for SSP by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, shows a line of six grey smoke plumes on a ridge above the town of Toroge. The image is consistent with reports of recent fighting in the area. SSP’s new satellite imagery also shows that civilian structures in the town appear to be abandoned and that Sudan Armed Forces, or SAF, has created what appears to be a choke point, with apparent artillery, main battle tanks, and infantry fighting vehicles controlling the main evacuation route for refugees attempting to flee into South Sudan. In addition, the latest SSP report includes a new satellite image of a plane in flight. It appears to be consistent with an An-24, or Antonov, a type of aircraft reportedly used by SAF to indiscriminately bomb Nuba civilians.

Enough Project Co-founder John Prendergast stated:

“The Sudanese army’s choke point just 45 kilometers, or 28 miles, north of the Yida refugee camp in South Sudan shows that the estimated 200,000 civilians in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan are cut off from receiving humanitarian aid and from fleeing to UN refugee camps in South Sudan. Now is the time for the US and the international community to deliver a cross-border humanitarian aid operation to break the blockade the regime has created, which threatens the lives of thousands of Nuba civilians.”

Yida camp has been the major receiving point for refugees fleeing the fighting and the approaching famine conditions in South Kordofan. On 22 January, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that there are 24,000 refugees in the camp. 

In a previous report released on 25 January, the Satellite Sentinel Project presented evidence and reports indicating that the SAF is apparently preparing to launch a full-scale assault against the rebel-held stronghold in the Kauda Valley of the Nuba Mountains and had restricted access to the road leading toward South Sudan through Buram and Jau. The imagery in the new SSP report provides visual confirmation of a fortified choke point likely established along that road sometime after 23 November 2011.

Enough Project Executive Director John C. Bradshaw stated:

“The international community must not wait to protect these civilians, and cannot claim there was no warning that the Government of Sudan was preparing to attack its own people. The evidence in SSP’s two most recent reports shows a pattern almost identical to the Government of Sudan’s road-building activity and disposition of forces revealed by satellites in March of last year, before SAF’s May bombardment and invasion of the oil-producing border area of Abyei, which displaced 110,000 of the indigenous Ngok Dinka population.”

SSP has documented newly elevated roads pointing into the Nuba Mountains from SAF-controlled areas and the buildup of forces in positions where they can easily deploy along those roads with heavy armor, artillery and close air support, including helicopter gunships. 

Harvard Carr Center Executive Director Charlie Clements, MD, stated:

“Restricting the ability of civilians to flee a conflict zone can constitute a violation of international humanitarian law. It is crucial that the Government of Sudan allow any and all civilians attempting to flee violence in South Kordofan to do so and seek refuge across the border.”

Read the Satellite Sentinel Project report, “Chokepoint: Evidence of SAF Control of Refugee Route to South Sudan”: http://www.satsentinel.org/report/chokepoint-evidence-saf-control-refuge...

View or download DigitalGlobe satellite imagery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/enoughproject/sets/72157629049381217/with/6

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About the Satellite Sentinel Project

The Satellite Sentinel Project, http://satsentinel.org, combines satellite imagery analysis and field reports with Google’s Map Maker to deter the resumption of full-scale civil war between North and South Sudan. Not On Our Watch provided seed money to launch SSP. The Enough Project contributes field reports, policy analysis, and communications strategy and, together with Not On Our Watch, pressures policymakers by urging the public to act. Google and Trellon collaborated to design the web platform. Harvard Humanitarian Initiative provides research and leads the collection, human rights analysis, and corroboration of on-the-ground reports that contextualizes the imagery. DigitalGlobe provides satellite imagery and additional analysis.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Matt Brown, mbrown@enoughproject.org, +1-202-468-2925

WASHINGTON – In the wake of recent inter-communal violence that has killed hundreds and displaced 60,000 people in South Sudan’s Jonglei state, robust action is needed on the part of the government in Juba supported by the international community to deescalate the immediate crisis, address the systemic causes of the violence, and sustain peace between communities, according to a new Enough Project report.

The report, “Urgent Steps to Counter Inter-Communal Violence in South Sudan,” recommends key initiatives that the Republic of South Sudan and the international community should focus on to prevent further attacks on civilians in the short term and foster lasting peace in the long term.

“This cycle of violence can be broken with the right interventions," said John Prendergast, Enough Project co-founder and a co-author of the report. "Inter-communal violence in South Sudan is not inevitable. The Juba government and Sudanese churches can play a crucial role in brokering a sustainable agreement between the two parties, but diplomatic efforts must be robustly supported by the UN mission in South Sudan and donor governments.  And much more must be done by the South Sudan government, the UN mission and the UN Security Council in urgently protecting civilian populations."

In the short term, actors should strengthen inter-communal reconciliation efforts, which would involve bringing the two feuding communities – the Lou-Nuer and Murle – into dialogue on accountability and compensation, among other things. Civilian protection efforts in the form of UN peacekeepers and South Sudanese army and policy units must also be strengthened, the report states.

“South Sudan’s responsibility to protect its civilians begins with support to the grassroots reconciliation process that should remain under the churches' leadership. This support should include the delivery of security and services to the affected communities and high-level engagement to address the political spoilers that may arise during the process,” said Amanda Hsiao, Enough Project South Sudan field researcher and report co-author. “In their parallel efforts on the ground, it is critical that the Sudan Council of Churches deepens their engagement with youth in both communities.”

Long-term efforts should focus on accountability for those who organize inter-communal violence and increasing representation in government for underrepresented communities. Other long-term initiatives aimed at ending the cyclical violence include increasing state authority and bringing infrastructure and economic opportunities to the greatly underdeveloped Jonglei state.

“South Sudan, with the international community’s support, must begin to address systemic causes of inter-communal violence, such as a lack of accountability, and the need for greater inclusion of diverse ethnic communities at high levels of government,” said Jennifer Christian, Enough Project policy analyst and report co-author. “This will be critical to ensuring the security and viability of the country going forward.”

Read the full report: “Urgent Steps to Counter Inter-Communal Violence in South Sudan.”
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Enough is a project of the Center for American Progress to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Founded in 2007, the Enough Project focuses on crises in Sudan, eastern Congo, and areas of Africa affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Enough’s strategy papers and briefings provide sharp field analysis and targeted policy recommendations based on a “3P” crisis response strategy: promoting durable peace, providing civilian protection, and punishing perpetrators of atrocities. Enough works with concerned citizens, advocates, and policy makers to prevent, mitigate, and resolve these crises. For more information, please visit www.enoughproject.org.

Satellite Sentinel Project Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jonathan Hutson, jhutson@enoughproject.org
+1-202-386-1618

WASHINGTON -- In apparent preparation for a final assault against the Nuba people who live in Sudan’s southern state of South Kordofan, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) has cut off the main evacuation routes for refugees fleeing areas already bombarded, has encircled the remaining local civilian population in the last rebel strongholds of the Nuba Mountains, and is building roads and lengthening the closest airstrip within striking range, according to new imagery released by the Satellite Sentinel Project (SSP).

Enough Project Co-founder John Prendergast stated:

“With only two months left until the expected start of the rainy season, the Sudan army has a limited window to launch a full-scale assault on the Kauda Valley and the surrounding region where the majority of the remaining Nuba people live. As they did with the Ngok Dinka in Abyei and with the Fur and Zaghawa in Darfur, the Khartoum regime is driving the Nuba people out of their homelands in order to remove the support base for the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army – North.

“For years, there has been talk and debate about the efficacy of a no-fly-zone or some other kind of deterrent to the Khartoum regime’s use of air power to attack civilian targets. Now would be the time for the United Nations Security Council or interested member states to create that deterrent, and combine it with a cross-border humanitarian aid operation to break the blockade the regime has created with its denial of access for emergency assistance. If left to their own devices, thousands of Nuba civilians will die.”

The evidence in SSP’s new report shows a pattern almost identical to the Government of Sudan’s road building activity and disposition of forces revealed by satellites in March of last year, before SAF’s May bombardment, invasion and displacement of the indigenous population of 110,000 Ngok Dinka who lived in the oil-producing border area of Abyei.

DigitalGlobe satellite imagery, analyzed for SSP by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI), documents newly elevated roads pointing into the Nuba Mountains from SAF-controlled areas and the buildup of forces in positions where they can easily deploy along those roads with heavy armor, artillery and close air support, including helicopter gunships.  

Sudanese road crews are, in one area, within 10 kilometers of completing the roads required to deploy heavy armor into the Kauda Valley, an area controlled by SPLA-North rebels. South Kordofan Governor Ahmed Haroun, indicted in 2008 for crimes against humanity in Darfur by the International Criminal Court, stated in October 2011, “These [road construction] projects will be the weapon for defeating the enemies.”

Enough Project Executive Director John C. Bradshaw stated:

“The United States, together with the international community, must act swiftly to fulfill its responsibility to protect the Nuba people who are being bombarded, and starved, by their own government. Sudan appears to be several weeks away from being able to launch a full-scale, final assault on the Kauda Valley and the surrounding area, where most of the 200,000 Nuba people who remain in South Kordofan, according to UN estimates, are sheltering in caves, cut off from humanitarian aid.”

SAF appears to control choke points along the routes civilians have taken over the past eight months to flee South Kordofan into South Sudan. In addition, SSP has observed SAF efforts to lengthen and level the airstrip at Talodi, which is approximately 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Kauda Valley. The improvements to the airstrip, indicated by the presence of construction machinery, increased the length of the strip to 1,800 meters from its initial length of 1,100 meters. The Talodi airstrip is therefore now capable of accommodating Antonov planes used for bombing and other attack planes for high-tempo operations.

Recent imagery shows four SAF helicopters, including three gunships, at the Kadugli airbase. Also, main battle tanks, apparent mechanized infantry units, and occupied artillery positions are clearly visible at SAF’s 14th Division headquarters in Kadugli. These units are all capable of rapid deployment to the Kauda Valley.

SSP analysis has further determined that between 21 May and approximately 1 November 2011 the civilian population in a section of Buram likely fled. The Government of Sudan has identified Buram as a rebel-controlled area.

Harvard Carr Center Executive Director Charlie Clements, MD, stated:

“The disturbing pattern, indicated by satellite imagery analyzed by SSP, has been seen before. In the case of Abyei, the international community did not heed the warnings we issued six weeks in advance. The community of nations must not again fail to act while some 200,000 Nuba civilian lives are in danger.”

Read the Satellite Sentinel Project report, “Siege: Evidence of SAF Encirclement of the Kauda Valley.”

Contact: Matt Brown, mbrown@enoughproject.org, +1-202-468-2925

WASHINGTON – As relations between Sudan and South Sudan continue to remain icy since southern independence in July, the two countries’ regional neighbors are critical in promoting peace between the two Sudans, according to a new Enough Project report.

The report, “The Two Sudans: A Tour of the Neighborhood,” describes the nine countries that border Sudan and South Sudan and details the role that each state can play in bringing peace to the troubled neighbors.

“The two Sudans do not exist in a vacuum; rather, their post-separation negotiations and bilateral relations will be situated within a regional context,” said Omer Ismail, Enough Project Sudan policy analyst and a co-author of the report. “These influential international actors must continue to support initiatives focused on maintaining peace and security between the two Sudans.”

Sudan and South Sudan’s neighbors are Egypt, Libya, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Central African Republic. The report recommends that these regional states contribute to current peace building initiatives such as the African Union High Implementation Panel.

“Regional neighbors should provide robust support, engagement, and intervention in the process to help ensure the success of peace building initiatives,” said Annette LaRocco, Enough Project Research Assistant and report co-author. “Influential regional actors must push for a reduction of violence in and a permanent solution to the conflicts in the Sudans.”

Read the attached report: “The Two Sudans: A Tour of the Neighborhood"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jonathan Hutson, jhutson@enoughproject.org, +1-202-386-1618

WASHINGTON – Donors and stakeholders from Somalia and the region must craft a plan for who will govern southern Somalia if and when Kenya's intervention to oust the jihadi group al-Shabaab succeeds in order to create stability in the highly contested region, according to a new Enough Project paper by Ken Menkhaus.

Menkhaus, a professor of political science at Davidson College and a specialist on Somalia, argues that the three-month military intervention in the Jubbaland region of Somalia could have unintended negative consequences unless a strategy is put in place.

“Intervention strategies that plan the war but not the peace will fail,” Menkhaus said. “Kenya risks this fate in southern Somalia. Unless a plan is crafted, Kenya is not likely to get what it wants – a more stable and secure border area. Instead, its offensive could destabilize the region.”

The paper explains the roots of Kenya’s incursion into Somalia and the challenges the military intervention faces including getting bogged down in heavy rains, the potential for terrorist reprisals in Kenya, and the possibility of prolonged urban warfare in the Somali port city of Kismayo.

According to the report, a plan should be in place for the long-term political dispensation for the Jubbaland region in order to foster stability if and when Shabaab is ousted. To accomplish this, the focus should be on creating a buffer zone along the Kenyan-Somali border, establishing a representative, non-administrative regional government, and putting in place a temporary international customs authority to manage the revenues from the lucrative port to benefit local inhabitants while preventing corruption and clan competition.

“There is an urgent need to initiate Somali dialogue toward a ‘Kismayo solution’ before the city changes hands,” Menkhaus said. “A successful Somali dialogue on rights and claims on Kismayo could serve as a model for other contested Somali urban areas. Kismayo needs to be a setting where Somalis agree explicitly to create a 'cosmopolitan city' – one in which all Somalis have full rights to live, work, own property, and operate businesses.” He emphasizes that Kenya would not be able to accomplish this without the support of the international community.

Menkhaus sees both potential pitfalls and benefits of the intervention. “Though there are good reasons to second-guess the Kenyan military intervention, it could produce an unexpected and rare window of opportunity in Kismayo," he said. "That opportunity will be missed unless diplomatic initiatives are initiated immediately.”

Read the full report: “After the Kenyan Intervention in Somalia.”

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Enough is a project of the Center for American Progress to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Founded in 2007, the Enough Project focuses on crises in Sudan, eastern Congo, and areas of Africa affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Enough’s strategy papers and briefings provide sharp field analysis and targeted policy recommendations based on a “3P” crisis response strategy: promoting durable peace, providing civilian protection, and punishing perpetrators of atrocities. Enough works with concerned citizens, advocates, and policy makers to prevent, mitigate, and resolve these crises. For more information, please visit www.enoughproject.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Matt Brown, mbrown@enoughproject.org, +1-202-468-2925

WASHINGTON – As reports continue to emerge concerning the aftermath of a recent resurgence of inter-communal violence between the Lou-Nuer and Murle communities of Jonglei state, the government of the Republic of South Sudan, supported by the international community, must redouble its efforts to address the more systemic causes of this and other such instances of inter-communal violence throughout the new nation, the Enough Project said. Without robust government intervention, violence between the communities and attacks on civilians will continue.

Enough Project Co-founder John Prendergast stated:

These inter-communal attacks do not have to be inevitable. Individuals on both sides are complicit in inflaming the situation. Outsiders have provided arms and ammunition. The South Sudan government did not do enough in the aftermath of initial attacks last year. The international community’s efforts have largely been too little, too late. A major investment in diplomacy, development and security is needed for Jonglei state to prevent an intensification of violence.

“The causes of the violence go beyond the retaliatory nature of cattle raiding in Jonglei state and touch upon broader issues of accountability, reconciliation, political inclusion, an absence of state authority, and development,” said Jennifer Christian, Sudan policy analyst for the Enough Project.

The Enough Project recommends that the government of the Republic of South Sudan, along with the international community, focus its efforts to address inter-communal violence in Jonglei state on the following:

Greater Accountability for Crimes Committed in the Context of Inter-Communal Violence: Individuals responsible for perpetrating crimes related to cattle raiding must be held accountable. This includes individuals who foment violence related to cattle raiding, as well as those who participate directly in such violence. Processes through which individuals may be held accountable may be judicial or more traditional in nature. Regardless, capacity building efforts within South Sudan’s judiciary must be redoubled now to ensure judicial, as well as police, personnel are able to investigate and prosecute offenders, if necessary.

Inter-Communal Reconciliation Efforts: The Government of South Sudan’s decision to bolster the ongoing reconciliation efforts of the Sudan Council of Churches is important for bringing about sustained peace between the Lou-Nuer and Murle communities. Such reconciliation efforts should target not just traditional community leaders, but also include Lou-Nuer and Murle youth as well as those actors who possess influence over parties to the violence on both sides. Reconciliation efforts may contemplate mechanisms to address crimes committed during past instances of inter-communal violence, which may, in turn, assist in addressing issues of accountability. The sustained support of national and state officials behind these reconciliation efforts is key to building the credibility of the process.

Greater Inclusion of Murle Community Members within the National and State Level Governments: Efforts should be taken to increase the representation of Murle community members in government, both at the national and state level. Greater inclusion of the Murle in government will, in turn, provide the Murle community with mechanisms to voice its concerns in a peaceful and constructive manner. This inclusion should, however, be coupled with efforts to develop the capacity of the civil administration, particularly at the state level. Such capacity building will help to facilitate greater communication and dialogue between Jonglei’s state government and communities.

Expansion of State Authority in Lou Nuer and Murle Areas: The political and security-related isolation of the two communities has contributed to the rise of parallel authorities, and renders violence as one of the few mechanisms for addressing community grievances. The delivery of basic services, provision of security, and establishment of rule of law by the government in Lou Nuer and Murle areas are critical toward ending inter-communal violence in the long term. Expansion of state authority will require, among other things, capacity building within the national, state, and local governments and policing forces, as well as development of Jonglei’s infrastructure.

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Enough is a project of the Center for American Progress to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Founded in 2007, the Enough Project focuses on crises in Sudan, eastern Congo, and areas of Africa affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Enough’s strategy papers and briefings provide sharp field analysis and targeted policy recommendations based on a “3P” crisis response strategy: promoting durable peace, providing civilian protection, and punishing perpetrators of atrocities. Enough works with concerned citizens, advocates, and policy makers to prevent, mitigate, and resolve these crises. For more information, please visit www.enoughproject.org.

For Immediate Release

Contact: Jonathan Hutson, jhutson@enoughproject.org , +1-202-386-1618

Statement of Enough Project Sudan analyst Omer Ismail in response to the Arab League's selection of Sudan's General Mohamed Ahmad Al-Dabi to head a human rights monitoring team in Syria:

"It is perplexing that the Arab League chose the Khartoum regime's General Al-Dabi to lead its team monitoring the Syria regime because of his record of turning a blind eye to human rights crimes, or worse. When he served as Sudan's former head of Military Intelligence and when he oversaw implementation of the Darfur Security Arrangement, alleged war crimes including genocide were committed on his watch. Instead of heading a team entrusted with a probe of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity by Syria, the general should be investigated by the ICC for evidence of similar crimes in Sudan."