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Save Darfur Coalition (Washington, DC)

Sudan: U.S. Presidential Candidates Answer Questions on Darfur

Enough Action Fund, the Save Darfur Coalition and the Genocide Intervention Network

30 September 2008

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opinion

Washington, DC — In April, our three organizations—the Enough Action Fund, the Save Darfur Coalition and the Genocide Intervention Network—submitted identical questionnaires to the McCain and Obama campaigns asking them in very specific terms what they planned to do about the continuing crisis in the Darfur region of western Sudan. As early as 2004, the Bush Administration called the situation there genocide. Recently, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court emphatically agreed; asking the court to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

The responses tell us a great deal about the candidate’s approach not only to Darfur, but their views on the International Criminal Court, sanctions, and dealing with key states, particularly China. Both should be congratulated for the gravity with which they are approaching Darfur. Our organizations, and the millions of people that have led the movement to help Darfur, will expect the bold promises made here to be kept. With more than 300,000 dead in Darfur, and more than two million people driven from their homes, the time has come to act decisively.

On Making Darfur a Priority

John McCain: “While the United States Congress and the Bush administration have been in the forefront of denouncing the genocide for what it is and providing assistance to the victims, we need to act more dynamically to end the slaughter and secure a just and sustainable resolution to the conflict.”

Barack Obama: “I will make ending the genocide in Darfur a priority from Day One. It is a collective stain on our national and human conscience that the genocide in Sudan, now starting its sixth year, has gone on for far too long.”

• Both men express support for enforcing a no-fly zone over Darfur. McCain suggests that NATO could play a role in enforcing the no-fly zone, while Obama suggests he would “work with international partners,” including NATO, to do so.

On ensuring that the UN peacekeeping force in Darfur, or UNAMID, is effectively deployed

McCain: “The responsibility to protect civilians is one that arises out of our common humanity and no government complicit in the underlying atrocities should be allowed to set the terms whereby the international community acts to defend the most vulnerable, especially when those conditions are poorly disguised obstructions to delay the alleviation of the plight of those displaced by the violence.”

Obama: “My administration will work to ensure that UNAMID has the necessary training and equipment—especially helicopter support—to ensure the full mobility and effectiveness of UNAMID troops.”

• Both men agree, in strong terms, that the Sudanese government has been the primary obstacle to a more effective UN force. Obama calls for stiffer sanctions on Sudan, and McCain acknowledges the need for UNAMID to have sufficient airlift and aerial patrol capabilities.

With an existing 2005 North-South peace deal, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, or CPA, in Sudan turning wobbly, and Darfur still in flames, the candidates were asked how they would promote a lasting peace for all of Sudan

McCain: “The first step to any realistic peace process for all of Sudan is ensuring that the peace accords already on the books with respect to South Sudan are honored. That includes the right of the citizens of South Sudan to determine whether or not to continue within Sudan itself. If history is any indication, Khartoum will resist any moves to secede, despite having conceded the possibility in the CPA. Consequently, the only way to avoid bloody conflict is if the South Sudanese possessed a credible deterrent, albeit not necessarily an offensive capability, against aggression, including an air defense system to protect themselves against raids like the ones which continue to take place in Darfur.”

Obama: “It is imperative that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 be implemented in full. I will appoint a senior special envoy for all of Sudan who will have the staff and resources to fulfill the mission. One of my envoy’s top priorities will be to ensure the effective implementation of the CPA. With respect to Darfur, my administration will work with regional leaders and the international community to try to rekindle the peace process.”

• Both are sharply critical of Khartoum’s failure to fulfill the terms of the 2005 agreement.

McCain also notes, “The objective is to assure not only the human security of the peoples of Darfur and South Sudan, but also their inalienable right to self-determination.”

Obama places additional emphasis on the need for preventive policies to prevent conflicts before they occur.

On how to engage with China to ensure that Beijing, which is a major consumer of Sudanese oil, uses its leverage to help end the genocide in Darfur

McCain: “While my administration will seek to engage Chinese leaders in a diplomatic dialogue, it will also not be constrained by threat of a Chinese veto at the UN Security Council from proposing what is the morally right course of action in defense of human life and international law. If the People’s Republic of China blocks the alleviation of the humanitarian disaster in Sudan, then it should have to pay the price for that obstructionism, not only in the court of global public opinion, but in its relations with responsible members of the international community.”

Obama: “In Sudan, China is supporting one of the most reprehensible regimes in the world. Given the problems associated with China’s relationship with the Government of Sudan, my administration will elevate the genocide in Darfur to a top level priority in our bilateral dialogue with China. I have already urged a more constructive approach to Sudan in extensive conversations with the Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. and China’s Ambassador to the United Nations.”

• Both argue that China’s emerging role as a global power requires a greater sense of responsibility from Beijing, and that continued support for the Sudanese government undercuts China’s stature on the world stage. Obama calls for an effort to find common ground with China on promoting development in Africa.

On ensuring that the perpetrators of genocide in Darfur are brought to justice

McCain: “I support granting the ICC jurisdiction in this case, and do not believe we should allow these indictments to be flaunted. My administration would, together with our allies, introduce a new resolution reaffirming the obligatory, Chapter VII nature of the earlier resolution, backing the demand for compliance with carefully calibrated punitive measures. Most certainly there can be no question of removing Sudan from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism or any other ‘normalization’ of relations between our two countries until Khartoum complies with its obligations to hand over these state-affiliated perpetrators of terror on its own people for trial.”

Obama: “The U.S. should work with our partners in Africa and Europe to ensure indicted criminals are arrested and turned over to the ICC if they travel outside of Sudan. Political and economic pressure on the Khartoum regime should be extended through sanctions and other means.”

• Both candidates agreed that the Sudanese government has offered no cooperation with the court to date.

On the role of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and efforts to ensure perpetrators of genocide and crimes against humanity are held accountable

McCain: “I believe we should work with our partners, many of whom are parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC [International Criminal Court], to ensure that the tribunal is able to carry out its mission in this case. Because the U.S. is not a member of the ICC, we are not legally obligated to bear the costs of its operations. However, as President I would voluntarily contribute to the costs of prosecuting those who have been indicted for war crimes and other violations of international human rights law in Darfur.”

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