An All-Sudan Solution: Linking Darfur and the South

Publication Date: November 2007

Publisher: Center for American Progress; International Crisis Group

Author(s): Roger Winter; John Prendergast

Research Area: Human rights; International relations

Type: Report

Coverage: Sudan

Abstract:

The stakes in Sudan in terms of protecting human life may have no equal throughout the world today. As Darfur continues to churn and burn, the 2005 peace deal that ended a far deadlier war in Southern Sudan is at risk and in danger of eventual collapse. If it unravels, there will be no chance for peace in Darfur, and if Darfur continues to deteriorate, the likelihood increases dramatically of a return to what was—for 20 years—a far more destructive war in the South.

The urgent task at hand, therefore, is to simultaneously and equally support both the resolution of Darfur’s crisis and the timely implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The CPA is the peace deal dealing primarily with the war in Southern Sudan, but it also provides a framework for a national solution. For the growing movement of activists who have committed themselves to work for an end to the genocide in Darfur, and for policymakers and negotiators working on Sudan, these two policy priorities must go hand-in-hand. The objective of the Darfur movement must be broadened to include achieving a sustainable and comprehensive solution for all of Sudan. The end to both crises rests in the same solution: the democratic transformation of the country, driven by strong internationally monitored peace agreements for the South, Darfur, and the East that are built on shared power, shared resources, and comprehensive political change.