Measuring Commitment to Best Practice
HRI 2008
SUDAN
Sudan, the largest country in Africa, is undergoing a complex crisis characterised by political, economic, religious and ethic clashes. The brutality of the confrontations and their persistence have made Sudan the worst crisis for internally displaced persons in the world. Currently, there are there are three conflict focal points, each with its own characteristics.
SOUTH. The war that put Muslims from the north against the Christians and Animalists from the south formally ended in 2005 with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. It is estimated that since then, 1,140,000 people have returned to the southern region. The conflict, which has lasted more than twenty years, leaves behind two million dead and four million displaced. Despite the signing of the peace agreement, government troops have still not withdrawn from the region rich in petroleum and there are indications that the confrontations could start up again.
EAST. In August 2007, a peace agreement between the government and rebel groups in the area was signed. However, some conflicts remain as a result of decades of social, economic and political exclusion. The mortality and illiteracy rates in the region are among the highest in the country. Almost 20% of the population suffers from malnutrition; eight percentage points higher than Darfur.
WEST. Since 2003, the crisis affecting Darfur has caused the displacement of more than 2.2 million people. The conflict has even resulted in more than 300,000 people fleeing to bordering countries, mostly Chad. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives in what is considered the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Despite the signing of the peace agreement in 2006, murder, rape and human rights abuses continue. Humanitarian access has become quite complicated in some areas, preventing care to be provided to more than half a million people that urgently need humanitarian assistance.
The complexity of the conflict is also related to intercommunity and interethnic confrontations; conflicts among communities and armed groups; and clashes among different factions of armed groups. The group most affected by this situation is civil society, who also has to deal with the groups of thieves that prevent the free movement of the population (and of the humanitarian actors).
Sources: International Crisis Group and Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
The humanitarian crisis
• Insecurity of the population. The extreme vulnerability that affected the population prior to the conflict has become considerably worse. Traditional negotiation mechanisms have been altered as the authority of the elderly has been replaced by armed young people. The condition of extreme poverty and socioeconomic marginalisation, especially in rural areas, is aggravated by the insecurity that prevents people from accessing the minimal resources needed for their survival.
• Extension of the humanitarian crisis. The humanitarian crisis that affects the Darfur region is having repercussions on Chad. The increase in number of refugees that make their way to the neighbouring country and the extension of the violence beyond the borders are resulting in internally displaced persons in Chad. In 2007, more than 170,000 Chadians were forced to abandon their homes.
• Attacks on humanitarian workers. Groups of thieves’ attacks on IDP camps and humanitarian workers has increased considerably in recent months (from July 2006 to July 2007 12 humanitarian workers were killed). As a result, both the needs of the population and the difficulties of access to IDP camps have multiplied. Nevertheless, some displaced people prefer staying in the camps over returning to their homes.
Background information on Sudan
• Population (2004): 36.9 million
• Human Development Index (2005): 147th out of 170 countries
• Gender-related Development Index (2005): 130th out of 177 countries
• GDP per capita (2005): $2,083
• Life expectancy at birth (2000-2005): 57.4 years
• Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2005): 62
• Undernourished population (2002-2004): 26
• Population not using an improved water source (2004): 30
• Adult literacy rate (%) (1995-2005): 60.9
• Official Development Assistance (2005): -
• Political system: Republic
Source: Human Development Report, 2007
Maps
- Affected Population in Darfur
Source: Reliefweb.
The humanitarian response
• United Nations. The 2007 UN Flash Appeal for Sudan was the highest in the world (1,333,440,796 dollars), almost twice the amount received for the second most funded crisis, the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 686,591,107 dollars. The donors’ contributions represented 82% of the total requested amount. In June 2007, more than 11,5000 humanitarian workers were in Darfur.
• Main donors. The main donors were the United Status, with 38.3% of all contributed funds, ECHO with 10.4%; and the United Kingdom with 7.7%.
More information
• International Crisis Group Documents with detailed information about the complex crisis devastating Sudan.
• International Displacement Monitoring Centre. Sudan: Outlook for IDP´s remains bleak. Report on the IDPs affected by the conflicts in Sudan.
• Amnesty International Sudan: The Displaced Population in Darfur. Report on the situation of the IDPs in Darfur.
The Sudan crisis in the HRI
The HRI 2008 is reexamining the crisis in Sudan as it is a long-lasting emergency with multiple and diverse components, which in the past two years have received the largest amount of humanitarian aid from the international community. Furthermore, the catastrophic proportions of the multidimensional crisis have made Sudan the country with the greatest number of internally displaced people. The extreme conditions in which humanitarian action takes place also shape the particularities of a humanitarian crisis that crosses borders and destabilises the region.
Other crises assessed in the HRI 2008