Why is Sudan’s Darfur region still the land for violence and regional threats?
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Hashim Sheikh
- . September 15, 2021
- . Update: September 15, 2021 8:30 pm
The recent meeting of the Sudanese officials with the UN council showed optimism on the part of the developmental processes in the country but the problems continued to linger when it came to infighting, intercommunal violence in the Darfur region. There are a lot of administrative changes in Sudan after the recently established peace treaty but that does not mean that the people and the officials feel secure and safe about their rights.
There might be a considerable amount of progress when it comes to the infrastructural and government wise development but regional conflicts are still very much a concern. On Tuesday, the security council heard about the affairs in the country and concluded that even though the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement remains, there are a few incidents of intercommunal violence.
Sven Jürgenson (Estonia), Chair of the Security Council Committee, was the one briefing a 15-member council where he outlined the developments for the period of June 14 to September 14.
Volker Perthes, head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, also talked about the development in the country saying, “There is also growing momentum to move forward on the preparations for constitution-making and elections.” He stressed the government making constitutional reforms in the Sudanese system.
But it is to be noted that it will only work when the public is more open to the idea of controlled peace and stability in the region. Despite the two parties– the Government of the Sudan and the Juba Peace Agreement– stressing on their efforts to continue with the peace process, the results have not entirely been positive.
The panel highlighted that except for the power sharing structure between the two, the implementation of the Peace Agreement has surely encountered delays. The regional context of this agreement is favourable to the peace process in Darfur but nothing can be told for certain.
Darfur is a region in West Sudan and has been subjected to violence since 2003. Things became increasingly violent in nature when an insurrection was launched by the rebels in protest of Sudanese government’s alleged disregard for the Western region and especially the non-Arab population.
The panel concluded the meeting with the promise to continue cooperation with the council but it will not be accepting any sanctions imposed on the country that were not priorly discussed with the Sudanese officials. “We expect to be treated fairly and objectively,” government officials.
