2009 Most Wanted: Sudan

Sudan is perhaps the most deserving member of the 2009 Most Wanted List of governments responsible for crimes against humanity, if for only one reason: The government --  or more precisely, the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) -- severely crippled the humanitarian aid operation supporting some four million people in Darfur after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and then somehow convinced naïve diplomats that Khartoum somehow deserves credit for "filling the gaps" left by the departure of the 16 organizations they expelled.

But, of course, the Sudanese government did much more in 2009 to cement its position as one of the world's most despotic regimes. Despite provisions for democratic reforms in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended the long-running North-South civil war, and in the country's new constitution, Bashir's NCP party has successfully thwarted attempts to improve human rights and freedom of expression in the country, and keeps tight control on civil society. The infamous  National Intelligence and Security (NISS) is responsible for numerous abductions and torture of human rights activists and opposition politicians, and has been particularly busy over the last month trying to put a lid on a wave of anti-NCP protests. So-called "reforms" to the National Security Act give more of an appearance of change than anything substantive, and do little to restrict the repressive tactics of the NISS and those behind their sorted endeavors.

Given the culture of intimidation and the lack of freedoms of expression, association, and assembly, national elections scheduled for April 2010 can essentially be declared un-free and un-fair before they even commence. The government has also roundly rejected all efforts to pursue justice for crimes committed against the people of Darfur, and the NCP seems intent on holding onto the culture of impunity that has protected its brutal rule for over two decades.

Opportunities for Change?

International pressure has thus far been too uncoordinated to push the NCP to honor past agreements; mid-December negotiations to overcome an impasse with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) of South Sudan, seemed at first to be a breakthrough, but the crackdowns on protests and the passage of unsatisfactory legislation on security sector reform seem to indicate otherwise. Furthermore, a whole host of problems related to the upcoming elections have not been addressed, including serious discrepancies in the national census, voter registration process, and the status of the 2.7 million internally displaced Darfuris.

The Obama administration, for its part, has been incredibly vague on its plans to engage Khartoum, revealing almost no details on either pressures or incentives to be used with the regime, or on benchmarks of progress, to the public or even to members of Congress. And while the administration rightly notes that cooperation among Sudan's many stakeholders is necessary, the view of many outside the U.S. is that little is being done to promote genuine coordination of international actors, by the U.S. or anyone else. The result gives the appearance of a befuddled mess of envoys running in circles, holding repetitive talks and forums, and allowing the NCP to stall and maintain a guise of commitment while little actually changes on the ground.

[Photo from Wikimedia Commons.]