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2012 Peter Brett Memorial Lecture
The Melbourne Law School in the University of Melbourne presents 2012 Peter Brett Memorial Lecture to be given by Mrs Fatou Bensouda, Deputy Prosecutor and Prosecutor Elect of the International Criminal Court, on Friday 17 February at 6pm at Melbourne Law School.
Mrs Bensouda has been elected to succeed Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo when his nine-year term expires in the middle of 2012. She will assume the role of Prosecutor of the ICC at a critical stage of the Court's history.
In her lecture, The Rome Statute Ten Years On: Where to from here for the ICC?, she will discuss some of the challenges she expects to face in consolidating the current cases before the Court.
The lecture is free but registration is essential.
Please see the attached flyer for further details, and register on-line at
http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/index.cfm?objectid=A84853F0-2C25-11E1-89560050568D0140
Latest newsletter attached covering DAN events from October to December 2011 and situation update in Darfur.
US is not supportive of a no-fly-zone in Sudan: envoy
September 12, 2011 (KHARTOUM) — United States special envoy to Sudan, Princeton Lyman said his country has no intention to push for the imposition of a no-fly-zone in the Blue Nile or other regions where the government forces fight against rebel groups.
Rebel groups in Blue Nile, force of bombing civilians in the three regions.
Darfur and Southern Kordofan called for a no fly zone in the three region accusing the Sudanese air
"I can not say that the United States or anyone else is prepared to enforce a no-fly zone in Sudan. That would take us into a confrontational situation in Sudan," said Lyman in an interview with Radio Dabanga on Monday.
He further pointed out that the US efforts are focusing on the resumption of negotiations between the Sudanese parties . "Whereas our efforts are concentrated in getting the parties back to the negotiating table and an end to the fighting and that's where we are putting all our efforts now". Read More...
Security conditions worsen in Jebel Marra
5th September, 2011. Source: Radio Dabanga
The area of Golo in Jebel Marra, West Darfur has seen deteriorating security and health conditions in the past few days, residents told Radio Dabanga on Thursday
A resident told Radio Dabanga, "Two civilians have been killed in the past two days besides one commercial vehicle being looted on the first day of Eid ul-Fitr."
He added that the region is also facing severe shortage of food and medicines. "Diseases like malaria and diarrhea are on the rise. There is a general deterioration of health conditions in the region because of heavy rains in the region."
He appealed to various humanitarian organizations to accelerate provision of food and medicine to citizens besides providing tarpaulins and pesticides for pools of stagnant water
Rebels call for non-fly zone in Blue nile, darfur and s.kordofan
5th September, 2011. Source: Sudan Tribune
Darfur rebels today urged international community to impose a no-fly zone and to establish safe corridors to provide civilians, in the Blue Nile, Darfur and Southern Kordofan, with humanitarian assistance. They also urged democratic forces to join them in their efforts to change Bashir's regime.
The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) who are fighting against the Sudanese government in Darfur since 2003 agreed recently with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) to establish an alliance to overthrow the regime but they are still discussing the place of the religion in the post-Bashir state.
Abdel Wahid al-Nur, leader of a SLM faction and Ahmed Hussein Adam external relations adviser for JEM leader denounced "the aggression" of the Sudanese army on the SPLM-N in the Blue Nile. Both said that the attack is part of a premeditated plan, prepared by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) aiming to spread "chaos and killing" over all the Sudan. Read more...
North Darfur and Red Sea facing food shortage
24th August, 2011. Source: Radio Dabanga
The states of North Darfur and Red Sea are facing severe food shortage with less than five (5) per cent food security in the regions, a report released by the health ministry said on Wednesday.
The report also pointed out high mortality rates among children and mothers and malnutrition in a press conference in Khartoum. The deputy minister of health, who presided over the press conference, pointed to the need for an intervention by the central government to rescue the states from the situation.
The report added that clean water and sanitation standards were the poorest in West Darfur and Blue Nile.
Camps in North Darfur suffer from water scarcity
15th August, 2011. Source: Radio Dabanga
The citizens of the Dali and Agro camps of North Darfur complained on Sunday of water scarcity
The drinking water shortage is a result of dysfunctional water pumps. The water now available in the camp is contaminated because of surface runoff.
A displaced person in the camp told Radio Dabanga, "The water from the wells has long led to a divide between the two camps located in the north of the valley."
He added that, the price of a barrel of water increased from five (5) pounds to seven (7) pounds and called on the displaced, local authorities and humanitarian organizations to speed up the repair of the faulty water pumps to solve the water shortage.
EU says Chad should have arrested Sudan's Bashir
8th August, 2011. Source: Reuters
The European Union expressed concern on Monday about a second visit to Chad by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, saying he should have been arrested there under an International Criminal Court warrant.
An EU statement welcomed the improvement and normalisation of the relations between Chad and Sudan, but noted Chad was a signatory to the ICC statute and stressed the importance of implementing U.N. resolutions.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton expressed concern about Bashir's Sunday visit and urged Chad "to respect its obligations under international law to arrest and surrender those indicted by the ICC," the statement said.
"Crimes against humanity and war crimes must not go unpunished and their prosecution must be ensured by measures at both domestic and international level," it said.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant last year for Bashir for orchestrating genocide in the Darfur region, where as many as 300,000 people have died since 2003.
This followed an earlier warrant issued in March 2009 for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Bashir has dismissed the charges by the ICC, the world's first permanent court for prosecuting war crimes, as part of a Western conspiracy.
The ICC warrants were the first issued against a sitting head of state by the court, but Bashir remains at large as the ICC has no police force and depends on national authorities and states that have signed up to the court to make arrests.
Assaults continue in North Darfur camps
11th August, 2011. Source: Radio Dabanga
A number of refugees in North Darfur's Zam Zam camp have been injured as a result of a government operation on Wednesday.
Refugees from the camp were put in a state of panic when three (3) government helicopters swooped down and flew at a low altitude over the camp. The incident happened at around eight in the morning.
Inhabitants of the camp said that central reserve forces (also referred to as Abu Tirat) opened fire indiscriminately on the same day adding to panic and fear among residents.
A refugee, who does not wish to be named fearing retribution from Sudanese authorities, demanded that the international community intervene to protect the Sudanese refugees, while expressing his distrust of the government forces.
Displaced persons living in Kassab, North Darfur complained on Thursday of routine racial abuse at the hands of pro-government militias. The refugees said that pro-government militias riding cars and land cruisers launch slogans and racial insults at the camp population. Some incursions into the camps by unidentified persons also result in heavy firing.
A dweller of the camp, who wants to protect his identity, told Radio Dabanga, "A group of four (4) militia men entered the camp with four land cruisers on Thursday afternoon. They were armed with heavy weapons and caused a state of terror."
Dan in the media
To coincide with Refugee Week 2011 Yahya Abdelkarim, a Board member for the Darfur Australia Network and a Darfuri refugee was interviewed to raise awareness about the conflict in Darfur and to recount his journey from Darfur to Australia.
To listen to these interviews please follow these links:
- Life Matters, ABC Radio National
- 774 Conversation Hour with John Fain: 1, 2
Latest News
Darfur: UN aid workers bring relief supplies to remote area of conflict-hit region
9th August, 2011. Source: UN news Centre
United Nations humanitarian workers in Sudan's troubled Darfur region are delivering food, medical supplies and other relief items to people living in the west of the mountainous Jebel Marra, an area that has been largely cut off from outside assistance by the ongoing conflict.
Staff from several UN agencies, the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force (UNAMID) and the Danish Refugee Council are on a week-long mission to West Jebel Marra to distribute aid, according to a press release issued by the mission.
Aid workers aim to deliver more than 360 kilograms of food and medical supplies, up to 2.5 tons of plastic sheets or tarpaulins and 50 high-capacity rolling water containers, as well as blankets, soaps, kitchen sets and other non-food items. They will also assess the latest humanitarian conditions on the ground during the mission, which began on Sunday.
Oriano Micaletti, the head of UNAMID's humanitarian protection strategy coordination division, said this week's mission is part of broader efforts by the mission to support aid agencies as they deliver assistance to remote areas that had previously been cut off for months or years because of conflict or insecurity.
Large areas of the remote Jebel Marra have been cut off because of continued fighting between Government forces, allied militiamen and rebels based in the area. Conflict has raged in Darfur since 2003, and as many as 300,000 people are estimated to have been killed and 2.7 million others displaced.
The mission – which includes representatives of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) – is slated to cover a series of towns and villages, including Nertiti, Kutrum, Kiwilla, Thur, Golo and Killin.
It follows Operation Spring Basket, a joint UNAMID-OCHA initiative earlier this year aimed at establishing permanent and safe humanitarian access to remote areas.
Humanitarian and political situations cause tensions in Darfur's camps
20th July, 2011. Source: Radio Dabanga
Tensions after Doha Signing
Leaders of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) said in a meeting with the UNAMID police chief that if UNAMID is to keep up with its mission to ensure the security of the Displaced, no groups advocating for the Doha agreement should be granted entry to the camps. One of the Sheikhs reminded UNAMID of the confrontations that took place between IDPs last year in the wake of the Second Doha Meeting, since which 6 leaders of Displaced People are living under the protection of the UNAMID headquarters. The Sheikh continued that UNAMID should not allow the same mistake to be repeated, and asked for caution in this matter, as a strong animosity against the Doha text remains in the camps.
JEM against camp dismantlements
The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rejected a new government policy aiming to dismantle the camps for Displaced People in order for them to return to their original territories. The government is setting this measure as a new priority after the signature of a peace agreement with the Liberation and Justice movement (LJM). The Deputy Secretary for Presidential Affairs Hassan Hamdeen, who is also a member of the delegation in charge of the negotiations with JEM, said in a press statement that the Movement refuses any directive changing the displaced people's situation by force, stressing that the Government is seeking the power to dismantle the camps without consideration for their inhabitants' situation. Read more...
Sharp increase of food and commodity prices worry Darfur citizens
26th July, 2011. Source: Radio Dabanga
The civilians of Marla, Hajeer Tongo, Donkey Dursiya and Ankoja in South Darfur complained of a sharp increase of food prices because of the blockade imposed by the security authorities on fuel and sugar. A civilian from the area told Radio Dabanga that this drastic increase is due to a measure from the authorities, who forbid sugar and fuel to leave the city under the pretence that they might be delivered to rebel forces.
In Kassab camp, near the city of Kutum in North Darfur, the price of meat has doubled:a kilo of mutton has reached 30 pounds (11US$) and a kilo of beef reached 25 pounds (9US$) for the first time in the region. The displaced people in the camp expressed great worries about this increase in the price of essential goods and other commodities, especially since no humanitarian relief has been given to them for several months. The start of the holy month of Ramandan next week, is an additional concern regarding this issue.
Sudan's division echoes in war-ravaged Darfur
5th July, 2011. Source: Reuters
KERINDING CAMP, Sudan, July 5 (Reuters) - For many in Sudan's war-battered Darfur region, the division of the country on Saturday will not be a cause for celebration.
Southerners see secession as the end of a long march toward freedom, but in Darfur, which borders the South, it means the chance of more fighting between the government and rebels, as well as complications for issues like migration and cross-border animal grazing.
"We don't know what will happen next. There are dangers at every turn," Hussein Joma, 42, a community leader in the Kerinding camp near the Chadian border, said as women in bright shawls and men in dust-stained shirts and trousers filled plastic cans from a water pump.
"If there is war with the secession, it could affect the living conditions here, the economy -- the country as a whole. War increases prices and divisions between people."
War broke out in Darfur in 2003 when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against Khartoum, complaining the central government had left them out of the economic and political power structure and was favouring local Arab tribes.
Eight years later, hundreds of thousands of people who fled the fighting still live in vast, dusty camps like Kerinding, many in stick and mud huts reinforced with canvas from food aid delivery bags.
How will southern independence affect Sudan?
4th July, 2011. Source: BBC News
The new-born Republic of South Sudan will face many challenges - but Sudan will be in an equally vulnerable position.
Khartoum will have to cope without the south's oil reserves, and deal with continuing fighting in Darfur, as well as fresh conflicts in Southern Kordofan and perhaps elsewhere.
Darfur in the Shadows: The Sudanese Government's Ongoing Attacks on Civilians and Human Rights
June 6,2011/Source: Human Rights Education Associates (HREA)
Serious abuses have increased in Darfur in the past six months while the world's attention has focused on Southern Sudan's upcoming independence, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The United Nations Security Council, which will be briefed on Darfur on June 8, 2011, and the African Union should do much more to ensure that those responsible for continued war crimes in Darfur are held accountable and press the Sudanese government to end attacks on civilians in Darfur, cease arbitrary detention of rights activists, and reform the state security apparatus, Human Rights Watch said.
The 28-page report, "Darfur in the Shadows: The Sudanese Government's Ongoing Attacks on Civilians and Human Rights," documents the intensification of the eight-year conflict over the past six months. Since December 2010, a surge in government-led attacks on populated areas and a campaign of aerial bombing have killed and injured scores of civilians, destroyed property, and displaced more than 70,000 people, largely from ethnic Zaghawa and Fur communities linked to rebel groups, Human Rights Watch said.
Darfur Is Getting Worse
June 4,2011/Source: The New Republic
Darfur has become all but invisible. With fewer and fewer human rights reports, news dispatches, or even candid accounts from U.N. leaders, events in the region have dropped almost fully out of international view. Facilitating this slip is the fact that global attention has recently shifted away from Darfur to other areas of Sudan: to negotiations with Khartoum, to the south's independence referendum in January, and, more recently, to the mounting crisis in Abyei, the contested border area between the north and the south.
So have things improved in Darfur? On the contrary, the catastrophe there is deepening dramatically as we head into this season's "hunger gap," the dangerous, rainy period between the harvests of this past fall and winter and the next harvests, which begin in October. Water-borne diseases become much more common, and this year looks especially threatening, as hygiene, latrine maintenance, clean water, and primary medical care have all been attenuated by increasing restrictions on travel imposed by the Khartoum regime. Hundreds of thousands of lives are at acute risk.
Khartoum has long made clear that it wanted to "domesticate" the peace process, and, for this reason, has merely been going through the motions during stalled peace talks in Doha. It has also made clear for many years that its fundamental ambition (and now "peace" strategy) is to return displaced persons to their former villages and lands, typically destroyed or occupied by Arab militia forces. (Estimates show that the crisis in Darfur has displaced over 2 million people, and, according to the U.N., there are about 100 camps for the displaced in Sudan, though the number is likely higher.) This "New Strategy for Darfur" approved by the regime in September 2010, was supported by then-U.S. envoy Gration and African Union envoy Thabo Mbeki, former president of South Africa. It was a signal from the world to President Omar Al Bashir's regime that it could more or less have its way in Darfur—and the results have been horrific.
Aid shut-down in South Darfur prompts calls of protest
May 21,2011/Source: radio Dabanga
The Darfur Relief and Documentation Center condemned the move of the authorities of South Darfur to prevent all humanitarian organizations from moving around the state.
Aid groups' representatives were informed Tuesday by the Humanitarian Aid Commission that all humanitarian actors were forbidden from moving beyond a 15-kilometer radius of Nyala. The one exception to the order was Otash IDP camp, where there is a "serious humanitarian crisis" consisting of outbreaks of measles, meningitis and diarrhea, according to the UN Mission.
In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Abdelbagi Jibril, the head of Geneva-based center, considered the decision a crime which could be included as a crime against humanity because it endangers the lives of millions of civilian in Darfur who depend directly on the relief services.
In Darfur, the displaced people of the massive Kalma Camp called on the UN and human rights organizations to put pressure on the government to allow the organizations to enter the camp. Kalma Camp, which lies within the 15 km radius of Nyala, was nonetheless also put off limits to aid workers.
A sheikh from the camp said that the blockade of the aid organizations is meant to kill the displaced people through suffering and starvation because organizations have stopped working in the camp for more than a month. The sheikh also stated that the health and nutrition conditions in the camp have deteriorated completely.
Sudan jets bomb Darfur village, says UN
May 18,2011/Source: BBC
Sudan has carried out an air strike on a village in the troubled western Darfur region, the UN says.
A team of peacekeepers is trying to enter the area of Sukamir in north Darfur to assess the damage, UN officials say.
If confirmed it would be the second Sudanese air strike in Darfur in three days.
The UN has accused pro-government Arab militias of a campaign of ethnic cleansing against non-Arabs in Darfur.
It says as many as 300,000 people have died, although Khartoum contests this.
Call for restraint
Unamid, the UN mission in Darfur, said in a statement on Wednesday that warplanes on Tuesday had struck Sukamir, which is near Kuma, about 100km (60 miles) north of the main regional city of El Fasher.
It said a team had been sent to the area "to collect information on possible casualties and newly displaced persons".
The statement added that UN flights to the regions of Shangil Tobaya, Fanga Suk and other regions in north Darfur had been suspended.
It said Sudanese officials had restricted the movement of aid workers in the region, citing security concerns.
On Sunday, Sudanese warplanes bombed the town of Labado and the village of Esheraya in southern Darfur, according to the UN.
Darfur Community Leaders Engage in Tribal Reconciliation
May 10,2011/Source: All Africa
More than 500 leaders from villages around Niertiti and Zalingei in West Darfur met today in Nila Beida market about 35 kilometers east of Zalingei town in a conference organized by recent university graduates. The meeting, the first of its kind, brought together representatives of civil society, native administration leaders, women's groups, local community leaders and officials from the local government.
Leaders from disparate communities discussed peaceful coexistence and tribal reconciliation in the region. The meeting also centered on such issues as the provision of basic services, education, health care, and other development opportunities. Participants also discussed unemployment rates and criminal activities in the region.
Speaking on behalf of Joint Special Representative Ibrahim Gambari, UNAMID's Chief of Civil Affairs, Ms. Mbugua Wariara, commended the community for organizing such a vital conference. "Peaceful coexistence is a decision and you are making it today. Your presence here today is a message that Darfur must not be known for conflict but also for peace." Ms. Wariara also assured the participants that UNAMID and the international community would strive to support the recommendations made today.
DAN in the News
Why Libya and not Darfur? It's time the UN stepped in
May 16,2011/Source: The Australian
AS the world continues to assist Libyans in their struggle against a vicious dictator, displaced millions in Darfur look on in confusion. Tensions in Libya reached horrific proportions and the world stepped in to provide relief.
People in Darfur have been experiencing a similar fate to those in Libya for the past eight years, with no respite in sight.
Deaths in Libya reached 1000 before a no-fly zone was imposed. Darfur has experienced well over 300,000 deaths since the conflicts began in 2003. Displaced people in Darfur have continually called on the UN Security Council to impose a similar restriction to that of Libya for the protection of civilians in Sudan, to no avail.
The conflict in Darfur was deemed a genocide in 2004 by Colin Powell, former US secretary of state, and condemned by the international community.
In spite of this, it still continues. Since 2003, the people of Darfur have been attacked by their government through proxy forces, militia groups and the military. Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir was indicted in 2006 for committing crimes against humanity and yet he is still in power, ordering planes to carry out aerial bombardments on villages and refugee camps throughout Darfur.
UNAMID plans to bring humanitarian aid to Darfur inaccessible areas
May 2,2011/Source: Sudan Tribune
The hybrid peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) during the next three weeks will launch "Operation Spring Basket" aiming to bring humanitarian assistance Darfur affected civilians in the inaccessible areas in the restive region.
Organized by UNAMID and the UN Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator (OCHA) the operation aims to increase the accessibility of aid workers to isolated areas in Darfur as Jebel Marra where they were denied access since long years ago.
"I can assure you that this will be an ongoing process, the humanitarian community will follow up in order to deliver humanitarian relief to those in need," said the UNAMID chief Ibrahim Gambari on Sunday after his return from En Siro and Kutum in North Darfur.
22 wounded in protests in Zalingei and Abu Shouk camps in Darfur
April 30,2011/Source: Radio Dabanga
Witnesses in Zalingei said that the authorities in Zalingei released 3 of the detainees while 9 more remain under arrest in the office of the security bureau in the city. The coordinator of camps in Zalingei confirmed to Radio Dabanga that the authorities are still after top figures in Zalingei and the camps which he said were completely surrounded. He affirmed that the protests would go on till the regime ends.
The coordinator of camps in Zalingei called on the political forces and civil society organizations to join the protests and urged the LJM and JEM and the National Umma Party to stop negotiating with the regime and join the protests which set out to bring down the regime.
In Abu Shouk Camp in El Fasher, witnesses told Radio Dabanga that 15 children were wounded during the protests which started in the camp on Thursday demanding the downfall of the regime and said that 7 children suffered fractures as a result of being whipped by hoses by the police while the other 8 suffered different wounds. Witnesses also said that the security bureau arrested Usman Adam Yagoub, a high-school student, and Abdul Razig Adam, a primary school student, as well as arresting Fawziya Abdullah from camp Abu Shouk on Thursday. They added that the security bureau also arrested Aubeid Tibin Elnour from Elsalam camp and two other women from the area of Jebel Si.
Darfur rebels reject draft Doha accord
April 29,2011/Source: AFP
KHARTOUM — The main Darfur rebel group involved in the Doha peace talks said Thursday it "totally rejected" the draft documents submitted by UN mediators, further undermining prospects of a Sudan accord.
"We received the documents from the mediators in Doha yesterday. But we are disappointed with them as they offer less than the Abuja agreement," the Justice and Equality Movement's spokesman Gibril Adam said.
He was referring to a peace accord signed by rebel leader Minni Minnawi in 2006.
Adam said the solutions the latest documents proposed to the problem of refugees, compensation for Darfuris affected by the eight-year conflict, power and wealth sharing, and the restoration of land taken by Arab tribes all fell short.
"For all these reasons, we have totally rejected these documents," Adam told AFP by telephone from Doha.
JEM, the most heavily armed of the Darfur rebel movements, has been participating alongside the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) in the foundering peace talks with the Sudanese government in the Qatari capital.
Djibril Bassole, the outgoing UN and African Union mediator on Darfur, had been under pressure to submit draft texts acceptable to the three parties, with Khartoum signalling its growing frustration at the lack of progress.
DAN Resources
EDUCATION KIT
Please look at, download, read & use, and send the Education Kit onwards that we have created for Upper Primary & Secondary School Children! (Or anyone interested in learning about the current conflict in Darfur).
The Darfur Australia Network (DAN) and Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) created the kit to teach schoolchildren that events and communities that are very far away are still closely connected to us.
We encourage all people to download and use all or sections of this kit.
The aim of the education kit is to increase understanding of the Darfur crisis and the experiences of Darfuri refugees, enable the Darfuri community to share stories with the broader Australian community about their experiences, encourage acceptance of diversity and empathy for those who have experienced loss and/or trauma, and promote active citizenship on human rights and refugee rights in the community through purposeful student inquiry.
Well done & Thank you to all the People, including DAN volunteers, Education Consultants, Australian Teachers of Melbourne, and the Victorian Government for making this wonderful & beneficial resource possible!
Access it here.
Recent Event
Sudan365's Global Day of Action
Past DAN Event
DAN In The Media
Hitting Peace Drums - Parramatta Sun - 16th September 2010
Available here
Cameras help Melbourne's Sudanese Children - The Age, 19th January 2009
Available here.
Justice poses its own dangers - The Age, 16th July 2008
Available here.
Australia is Failing the People of Darfur - The Age, 20th June 2008
An opinion piece by Sarah Hellings (Darfur Australia Network) and Dr Alex Bellamy (Asia-Pacific Centre for Responsibility to Protect). Available here.
China's role in Darfur Deadly - Canberra Times, 6th May 2008
An opinion piece written by DAN Vice President, Alpha Lisimba. Available here.
To arrange for a media interview with a member of the Darfur community in Australia please contact Sherona Parkinson, sherona@darfuraustralia.org or 03 80605659 (Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays)