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Progress Seen in Resolving Conflict in Darfur

By Jim Fisher-Thompson  

U.S. envoy Natsios cites international cooperation

Measurable progress is being made on resolving conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan by the United States and international partners that have been working to arrange talks among the warring parties, a U.S. diplomat says.

A Darfur cease-fire, brokered in part by the Libyan government, is working, and the number of deaths is lower than it was in 2006, U.S. Special Envoy Andrew Natsios said recently during a meeting of Africa specialists at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington.

"I am more optimistic now than I've been in a long time," Natsios said. "But it is a guarded optimism. Much hard work still needs to be done" to convince rebel leaders to resolve their differences so they can approach peace talks with a unified set of proposals as well as ensure Sudanese compliance with the U.N. proposal to deploy 24,000 peacekeepers to Darfur in a joint African Union (AU)-United Nations force.

Darfur also will be on the agenda of the upcoming U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York, which will be followed by peace talks between Sudanese government and rebel leaders in Tripoli, hosted by the Libyan government October 27, Natsios said.

At the U.N. General Assembly meeting, Natsios said, one of the major topics of discussion will be "how we as the international community continue to use our leverage and influence to keep the Darfur peace talks on track."

Together with international partners, Natsios said, "we are discussing measures, including sanctions, to discourage anyone on any side from taking actions that will jeopardize the [Tripoli] talks. This includes the government of Sudan," as well as rebel groups.

Since violence first sparked in Darfur in 2003, more than 200,000 lives have been lost and 2.5 million people displaced in fighting between government-backed forces called the Janjaweed and rebel movements contending for power.

Peace talks held in Abuja, Nigeria, and Arusha, Tanzania, failed to stem the violence, partly because of infighting among rebel leaders and the government's intransigence in not permitting a U.N.-strengthened peacekeeping force into the region to protect civilians.

But now, says Natsios, conditions are being created that should allow the parties in the Darfur conflict to hammer out a lasting peace settlement. "Diplomacy is being conducted at the highest levels of our government," in partnership with foreign nations such as France, Libya and China, to bring an end to the crisis, Natsios told the CSIS gathering.

Sanctions announced by President Bush last April are having a "profound effect" on Sudanese who have been stumbling blocks to the peace process in Darfur, Natsios said. As a result, he said, "we are seeing some improvement on the part of the government of Sudan," such as the recent release of a rebel leader "after intensive, quiet diplomacy by the United Nations and the United States."

But the "biggest obstacle to peace," Natsios said, is dissension and a lack of unity among the 14 to 22 rebel groups that have been battling the Sudanese government in Darfur for almost five years.

Urging all the rebel parties to attend the Tripoli peace talks, he said: "They have to realize that you don't get everything you want [in negotiations]. They need to repair internal disagreements and hammer out a common position" in order to ensure lasting peace in Darfur.

Acknowledging some controversy over the Tripoli venue, Natsios said he has traveled to Libya to discuss Darfur four times since being named special envoy and that the Libyan government has played a constructive role in the Darfur peace process.

"One of the most encouraging developments" in resolving the Darfur crisis, he said, has been "watching the international community come together" to support the peace talks, as well as deployment of the AU-U.N. peacekeeping efforts in the region.

"China has also played a very useful role behind the scenes," Natsios said, in using leverage to get the Sudanese government to accept the hybrid force and to participate in the Tripoli talks. In addition, "the Chinese have contributed 300 engineering troops to the hybrid force ... and they have made other promises in some detail ... that are very constructive."

Natsios also said a recent French initiative calling for a humanitarian corridor to be opened through Chad would bring relief to victims of the violence in Darfur. "We compliment President [Nicolas] Sarkozy" on the idea, which "seems to have legs on it [be feasible]," he said.

For more information, see Darfur Humanitarian Emergency.

Source: U.S. Department of State