Peace

Building peace costs less - in lives and in dollars - than picking up the pieces after a humanitarian crisis. The best way to end genocide and mass atrocities right now is with persistent, high-level diplomacy aimed at creating sustainable peace and laying the groundwork for a more secure future.  The Save Darfur Coalition encourages the Sudanese government and Darfuri rebel movements to commit themselves to substantive peace talks to address the root causes and manifold consequences of the six years of violence and suffering in Darfur.  We also call upon the international community - led by the United States - to establish the appropriate mediation structures and to provide sufficient resources for successful negotiations.   

These talks will also need strong civil society representation if they are to produce a sustainable agreement. For example, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation is supporting the Darfuri civil society organizations to articulate a peace initiative that will include their critical voices.  The Initiative for Inclusive Security has also promoted the critical involvement of Darfuri women in the peace process.

Any deal between the Darfurians and the Sudanese government should advance peace, stability, justice and democracy for all Sudanese.  The Save Darfur Coalition advocates for the continued implementation and reinforcement of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement.

We therefore urge the Obama administration to lead in constructing a multilateral strategy for peace by:

• Establishing an inclusive peace process for Darfur
• Revitalizing implementation of the CPA and the dangerously neglected Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement
• Ending Sudan’s proxy war with Chad

Toward that end, administration should focus on building a multilateral coalition of countries with significant leverage. At the same time as the processes are being constructed, the United States should assiduously work to create the necessary unilateral and multilateral carrots and sticks to press the parties in the direction of a peaceful and comprehensive settlement of Sudan’s multiple, interlocking conflicts.