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 Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور (Re: خالد الحاج)
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اكتب هنا
4. A looming humanitarian crisis
The number of civilians affected by the conflict is not limited to those killed or wounded by the attacks. Those who have survived attacks and fled face more abuses of their rights to adequate protection and humanitarian assistance. The level of insecurity in the region, the remoteness of areas in Darfur and Chad where civilians have taken refuge, and Sudanese government restrictions on aid and assistance are all factors which fuel a humanitarian crisis in the region. According to the latest reports of UN and humanitarian agencies, more than 1,100,000 civilians from Darfur are affected by the war.
4.1 The situation of the Sudanese refugees in Chad
4.1.1 continuous insecurity for those seeking safe haven
Civilians fleeing to Chad have been attacked on the road. Those estimated 100,000 who have found refuge across the border in Chad have faced cross-border attacks by Sudanese Arab militia. These attacks seriously undermine the respect for the exclusive civilian and humanitarian character of asylum.
Civilians met by AI delegates reported how dangerous their journey to Chad was.
Sarfa Adam, from Basao said :
« My sister's children had animals; they took the animals to Chad to cross the border. The Arabs were 300, on horseback. They attacked them. They killed three:
Ahmad Suleiman, 30, his brother, Hassan Suleiman, 20, and Dilo Ismail, 30. »
Osman Yahya Kitir, from Garadai said :
« Some of us came here, others fled to Silaya town in Sudan. We went back to the village after the attack to bury our dead and all the survivors had fled. It took us three days to come to Chad. We had to hide during the day and travel at night. There were soldiers and Arab militias all along the road. »
A handicapped Sudanese refugee who fled an attack on his village in Darfur ©AI
Some of the civilians who have fled to Chad were victims of cross-border attacks by the Janjawid, which included killings of people and #####ng of cattle.
Refugees in Kolkol, near Adre, said to Amnesty International delegates : « The Arabs attacked us in Sudan and took our cattle. They also came here in Chad, took 442 cows and killed a woman. Her name is Aisha Idris. »
UNHCR has reported several cross-border attacks of the same type. (19)
Moreover, on 29 January 2004, the Sudanese Air force reportedly bombed
Tina on the border with Chad. Bombs reportedly landed on the Chad side of the border, killing two civilians and injuring at least ten, amongst the refugee population.
4.1.2 Critical humanitarian conditions for the Sudanese refugees in Chad
While the Sudanese refugees in Chad insisted that they were luckier than the ones who stayed in Sudan, they faced a difficult situation in Chad. Eastern Chad is a remote area, prone to drought and with poor infrastructure and limited presence of aid agencies. Some of the refugees who had been present in Chad since April or May 2003 could not be accessed until the month of August, because of the rainy season. As the wadis were filled by water, Chadian towns such as Tina, Birak and Adre were being cut from the rest of the country.
Although the refugees were welcomed by the local population, who have shared their limited means of subsistence with them for more than seven months at the time of writing, most of them still live in precarious conditions. Amnesty International delegates visited eight locations where refugees were living : Tina 1, Tina 2, Birak, and Adre, Birkengi, Nakuluta, Kolkol and Agan. In Tina 1, the refugees were living in huts made out of fabrics and sticks found in the area. In other locations, they were living in precarious shelters made out of dry branches they could find in this semi-desert region.
At the time of Amnesty International's field mission in November 2003, relief was distributed by UNHCR only to the most vulnerable and geographically accessible refugee populations. Many suffered from hunger and thirst. Amnesty International delegates saw how refugees had to dig deep in the sand to find water, which was muddy. Many refugees arrived in Chad only with the clothes they had fled with. The extreme weather conditions mean that it is hot during the day and cold at night. Moreover, the refugees arrived in places where there are no toilets or other sanitary facilities. The poor medical infrastructure in the border areas of Chad, even with the setting up of centres and facilities by the aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), further compounds the situation. In December 2003, some 20,000 new refugees were reported to have arrived in Chad. On 23 January 2004, 18,000 new refugees were reported to have crossed the border(20).
Many refugees have also highlighted the difficulties faced by their children, most importantly the lack of education facilities.
In Tina 2, the refugees showed Amnesty International delegates a large hut that they built for the schooling of their children. They were worried that the children had been out of school for months because of the conflict in Darfur. However, they reported that the local authorities were reluctant to help with the education of their children, apparently because the education systems in Sudan and Chad were too different. In camps around Adre, parents and students who had fled to Chad also raised concerns at the absence of education facilities for them. They all stressed that they saw the provision of education for children and students as a priority.
The UNHCR has been hampered in its relief efforts by the poor infrastructure and the sheer number of refugees. In mid-January 2004, the agency started the relocation of Sudanese refugees in sites far enough from the insecure border, in line with international refugee law standards(21), along with a proper process of registration of individuals. Two camps have been built, Farchana, 55 kilometres away from the border town of Adre, which could welcome between 10 and 12,000 refugees, and Saranh, in the Iriba area, north of Tina, with a capacity of up to 20,000 people, and Kounoungo, near Guereda, which could host 8,000 people(22). Other sites will need to be identified and equipped to host more than 100,000 refugees and provide adequate protection and assistance to those who have arrived in the past few days.
Relocation to sites 50 kilometres away from the border is essential for the security of the refugees. Amnesty International believes that the international community must make an urgent and massive effort to complete the relocation of all the refugees before the start of the next rainy season in May 2004.The reported difficulty in finding sites in Chad which have water, the logistical obstacles due to the remoteness of the area and the continuous influx and the sheer number of the refugees have to be overcome to save further lives.
4.2 Denial of protection and assistance to the displaced in Darfur
Within Darfur itself hundreds of thousands of displaced have flocked into towns, which have little capacity to cope with the influx of new persons, or sought refuge in the bush or in areas controlled by the armed opposition. Apart from a few assessments made by aid agencies in rural areas or in towns in North Darfur reportedly controlled by the armed opposition during the cease-fire in the region, the displaced have received no assistance.
Those who have sought refuge in towns in Darfur have at times been repelled by government forces or been forced to go back to their villages. Amnesty International has received credible and concordant reports that those displaced within Darfur have been harassed and denied protection by the Sudanese army, the Janjawid or the local authorities.
Scores of civilians fled to Kabkabiya town between June and August 2003. Reports alleged that 300 villages had been attacked or burnt to the ground in the area. Many displaced were reportedly living in the open or in the local school in Kabkabiya, having very little or no access to humanitarian aid. For instance hundreds had fled after an attack on Shoba, a Fur village situated 7 km south of Kabkabiya on 25 July, by armed militia wearing government army uniforms, in which at least 51 Shoba villagers, including many elders, were killed. They were reportedly prevented for two days from returning to Shoba, to assist the injured and bury their dead, by a road block organized by government soldiers. In December 2003, internaly displaced persons camps around Kabkabiya were reportedly attacked by the Janjawid.
Thousands of civilians fled Kutum at the beginning of August 2003 and took refuge in surrounding villages or unknown places or tried to reach El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, situated some 80 km south-east of their town. Although a few were said to have reached El-Fasher, most were reportedly stranded in Kafut, a village halfway between both towns, because the Sudanese army stopped more civilians from taking refuge in El-Fasher. Civilians were reportedly living under trees, without any means of subsistence and were in desperate need of food, shelter and clothing, until a preliminary assessment of their conditions was allowed by the Governor of North Darfur.
Between the end of September and the beginning of October 2003, some 24 villages inhabited by the Dajo around Nyala were reportedly attacked and burnt. Amnesty International was given the names of at least 42 persons killed and 20 others wounded in these attacks. Some 3000 persons were said to have fled closer to Nyala town in places called Diraige and Al Nil. The local authorities allegedly put as a condition for assistance to them that they return back to their villages, even though these had been burnt and were located in insecure areas prone to attacks.
Amnesty International also received allegations that persons displaced from villages attacked around Kutum were forced by the local authorities to pretend that they were living in the houses of people who had fled Kutum town at the time when a USAID official visited the town in October 2003.
Aid agencies in Darfur have been hampered in their efforts to reach the displaced either by insecurity or by government restrictions.
Nine Sudanese workers transporting food aid by truck were reportedly killed in October in an attack by an unidentified armed group(23).
Four Sudanese workers for Medair, an international relief organisation and a government official were abducted around 11 November while they were reportedly distributing kits for displaced people around Silaya and Kulbus, in western Darfur. They were handed over to the local authorities in Chad by the armed opposition the JEM. The JEM said that it had "rescued" the group who had first been adbucted by armed militia or bandits(24).
The media have reported that despite the government promising access to humanitarian agencies, these are denied travel permits before going to the area.(25)
Unimpeded and secure access to internally displaced persons by aid organisations is crucial to avert a humanitarian crisis. As the ceasefire talks collapsed in December and fighting was renewed on a large-scale, UN relief agencies left Al-Jeneina, the capital of West Darfur. The Sudanese authorities imposed a curfew in Al-Jeneina and Nyala.
On 2 January, several thousands displaced persons living around Mornay town were allegedly attacked by the Janjawid and government soldiers. The displaced reportedly left Mornay to Al-Jeneina, some 85 kilometres away. Other villages and towns in the area of Al-Jeneina were reportedly attacked in the same period, including Mestero, Beida, Habila. Al-Jeneina is reportedly surrounded by military outposts, and those newly displaced are allegedly not allowed to enter the city.
On 15 January, the local authorities in Nyala reportedly closed camps where persons internally displaced by the conflict were living around the town, after attempting to forcibly move them to other camps situated some 20 kilometres away from the town(26). These other camps are reported to be situated in areas unsafe because of the ongoing fighting and this would be the reason why the displaced did not want to be relocated there, fearing for their own safety. Moreover, these new camps are reported to be less accessible to humanitarian agencies present in Nyala and to be ill-equiped in water, food, shelter and latrines to host people. The forcible relocation of displaced people contravenes the provisions of international humanitarian law.
The UN is advocating a humanitarian ceasefire agreement for Darfur which could protect humanitarian workers and bring critical aid to the victims of the conflict.
5. International human rights and humanitarian law
International human rights law considers extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings to be gross violations of human rights. Sudan has ratified numerous international and regional human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and People's Rights (African Charter) which guarantee the right to life and prohibit unlawful killings, torture and ill-treatment. According to the ICCPR, these rights are non-derogable and must always be protected. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or state of emergency, may be invoked by a government as a justification for violating these rights. Similarly, the African Charter does not allow states to derogate from their treaty obligations even during states of emergency.
International humanitarian law, which includes the Geneva Conventions of 1949 to which Sudan is a state party, governs the conduct of hostilities and provides certain protections for civilians and those taking no active part in hostilities. Common Article 3 to the four Geneva Conventions, applies "in the case of armed conflict not of an international character" and to "each Party to the conflict". It provides for the protection of persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of the armed forces who have laid down their arms or who are otherwise hors de combat. It requires such persons to be treated humanely, explicitly prohibiting "violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds" and the carrying out of executions without certain judicial guarantees. The destruction and #####ng of civilian property and means of livelihoods are forbidden by the Geneva Conventions.
Parties to an armed conflict are bound to respect international humanitarian law. They will be responsible for violations of this law by their own armed forces. In particular, armed political groups and militia are bound to respect international humanitarian law. Governments' regular armed forces are bound to respect both international human rights and humanitarian law. Moreover, States will also be responsible for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by other forces that are under their control and authority.
Customary international law codified in Article 13 (2) of the Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions (15) generally provides that the civilian population as well as individual civilians shall enjoy protection against the dangers arising from military operations. It prohibits making civilians as such the object of direct attacks, and acts or threats of violence; the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population. In addition, Article 13, by inference, protects civilians from indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks. (16) Civilian status is lost only where the person takes an active part in hostilities, not merely on the basis of support or affiliation.
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court includes a list of war crimes (when committed in internal armed conflict) in its jurisdiction. These war crimes include inter alia: murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment, torture and hostage taking, committed against those who take no active part in the conflict, intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population or civilian objects. Additionally, it defines as war crimes "Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated" and "Attacking or bombarding, by whatever means, towns, villages, dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives". The international community, through the Rome Statute and other mechanisms, has affirmed that individuals can be held criminally responsible for war crimes.
Furthermore, rape and other forms of sexual violence by combatants in the conduct of armed conflict are now recognized as war crimes, most recently in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which the Sudanese government signed in September 2000.
In the context of the conflict in Darfur, Sudanese forces and armed opposition groups must be guided by both human rights and humanitarian law standards. The obligation to protect civilians also means that all parties to the conflict have an obligation to ensure that they are not forced away from their homes.
A government that is responsible for or condones the large-scale internal displacement of its own citizens violates its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations which requires all Member States of the United Nations to ''promote universal respect for and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all'' (Articles 55 and 56). The rights of those displaced include the whole set of rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The norms protecting freedom of movement in Article 12 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sudan is a party, point to a general protection against being displaced.
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| العنوان |
الكاتب |
Date |
| تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-04-04, 12:56 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-04-04, 01:00 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-04-04, 01:07 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-04-04, 01:15 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-04-04, 01:28 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-04-04, 01:50 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-04-04, 01:58 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-04-04, 02:41 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-04-04, 03:07 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-04-04, 03:16 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-04-04, 05:04 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | خالد الحاج | 02-04-04, 05:17 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | خالد الحاج | 02-04-04, 10:19 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | خالد الحاج | 02-04-04, 10:21 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | خالد الحاج | 02-04-04, 10:24 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | خالد الحاج | 02-04-04, 10:26 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | خالد الحاج | 02-04-04, 10:33 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | خالد الحاج | 02-04-04, 10:37 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | خالد الحاج | 02-04-04, 10:39 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-05-04, 09:48 AM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-05-04, 01:13 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-05-04, 01:23 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-05-04, 03:01 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | nahar osman nahar | 02-05-04, 05:22 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-05-04, 07:00 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | خالد الحاج | 02-05-04, 07:05 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-05-04, 07:17 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | خالد الحاج | 02-05-04, 08:05 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-05-04, 08:44 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-06-04, 03:18 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-06-04, 04:07 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-06-04, 04:13 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-06-04, 04:34 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-06-04, 04:35 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-07-04, 12:17 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-07-04, 12:21 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-09-04, 03:43 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-09-04, 03:50 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-27-04, 02:03 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-27-04, 02:11 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 02-29-04, 03:07 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 03-06-04, 11:59 AM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 03-06-04, 12:15 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 03-06-04, 05:09 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 03-06-04, 05:16 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 03-06-04, 05:26 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 03-06-04, 05:45 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 03-06-04, 06:15 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 03-06-04, 06:25 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 03-07-04, 02:34 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 03-07-04, 02:37 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 03-07-04, 02:51 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 03-07-04, 02:55 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 03-07-04, 02:57 PM |
| Re: تحرير الكتاب التوثيقي لثورة دارفور | فتحي البحيري | 03-07-04, 03:00 PM |
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