Darfur:

• Two Darfur rebel groups accuse the Sudanese army of mounting new attacks in North Darfur
  
• Egyptian and Ethiopian forces are set to deploy to Darfur, however UNAMID continues to face challenges.
  
• Sudan sentences 8 more to death for their alleged involvement in the May JEM attack on the capitol of Khartoum.
  

Sudan:

• There has been reports of Sudan misusing and selling food aid.
  
• Five suspects appeared in court over the murder of a US diplomat this past January.

Burma:

• The World Food Programme reports that the regions affected by Cyclone Nargis are still in a state of emergency.  The Canadian International Development Agency announced that it will spend and extra 11.6 million in relief to Burma.
• The UN’s new Human Rights Rapporteur for Burma. Tomas Ojea Quintana, expressed optimism after his first meeting with the officials in the military regime.  He maintained that his chief interest was the fair treatment of political prisoners of which there are 2,000.
• As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the UN claims that the military government in Burma is stealing aid money through their countries below-market fixed exchange rate.
• Ibrahim Gmabari, UN envoy to Burma will make a 5 day visit to Burma starting in Rangoon on August 18th.
• Five Burmese activist were sentenced to two and a half years in prison for a silent protest in Taunggok to mark the anniversary of the 8-8-88 uprising.
• National League for Democracy party leaders in exile called on ASEAN) to reject the Constitutional Referendum voted on in May a week after Cyclone Nargis devastated the country.

Congo:

• The Indian army is investigating internal UN reports that its troops were responsible for sexual abuse while deployed as part of the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC, MONUC. Following the report, MONUC announced new measures to curb misbehavior by peacekeepers.
• Two battalions of Congolese military troops completed tactical and ethics training provided by MONUC this, as part of a program aimed at supporting the creation of a professional army. The Congolese army, known as FARDC, is blamed for widespread, but mostly unorganized and opportunistic atrocities against civilians.
• This week, FARDC leadership also announced the launch of a campaign to crack down on rape and human rights abuses committed by its troops.

This week, the Congolese national army, FARDC, announced a new initiative to crack down on rape and other human rights abuses committed by its troops. In a related development, MONUC, the United Nations peacekeeping force in DRC, announced the completion of training for two more FARDC battalions, part of a program aimed at supporting the creation of a more professional army.

These developments are encouraging. However, given just how important security sector reform is to achieving security in eastern DRC, the international community must remain vigilant in supporting these efforts and ensuring that they yield results.

The scale of violence committed by FARDC is startling. Last month, Human Rights Watch released documentation of violations of the DRC’s January 2008 ceasefire, which included reports of FARDC soldiers committing violence against civilians and collaborating with several of the most problematic rebel militia groups. Recent data from the Genocide Intervention Network (GI-NET), largely compiled from MONUC situation reports, indicate that FARDC personnel have been responsible for more than half of all violent attacks against civilians in eastern DRC over the past 6 months.

Atrocities committed by FARDC are widely considered to be opportunistic rather than systematic – more a result of underpaid soldiers and the lack of a robust system to investigate and punish those committing human rights violations than any methodical, top-down targeting of civilian populations. In fact, while GI-NET’s data show that FARDC soldiers are responsible for a greater number of attacks, rebel groups are actually responsible for almost three times as many civilian deaths.

Still, if DRC’s government is to be considered a good-faith partner in bringing peace and stability to the country, it must make every effort toward putting the systems in place to curb this violence, whether it is systematic or not.

Furthermore, it undermines the credibility of the free and fair democratic elections in 2006 that affirmed support for Joseph Kabila’s continued leadership. In a recent interview, Ross Mountain, the UN Secretary General’s Deputy Special Representative to DRC commented that “by massively participating in the different polls, the Congolese population demonstrated their desire for peace and their commitment to democracy.” Now it is up to Kabila’s government, with the support of the international community, to deliver on its responsibilities and maintain the faith of the Congolese people in a democratic system.

— Nina McMurry, Congo Education Coordinator

Yesterday, the Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, Louis Moreno-Ocampo, presented evidence of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes by the President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, to the ICC, seeking a warrant for Bashir’s arrest.  The indictment is the result of an intense investigation that has lasted more than three years, and its effects will be felt in Darfur and Sudan as a whole for years to come.

On March 2005, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1593, which referred Darfur to the ICC for investigation. Since then, Moreno-Ocampo has spent years tirelessly doing his job and gathering the evidence for the case.  The ICC issued the arrest warrants for “Ali Kushayb” and Ahmed Haroun in 2007, and the Sudanese Government to this day refuses to hand them over.

Now, after having reopened a second round of investigations, Moreno-Ocampo has presented evidence for the indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, which has in turn sparked some discussion in the international community about the effectiveness and indeed the effects of the indictment.

The conversation has seemed to boil down to the debate of “peace versus justice”: many have lauded the indictment as an important and long-overdue step towards justice for the mass atrocities committed in Darfur; others see the indictment as being a major obstacle in the path to peace for Sudan, one that could have disastrous consequences for civilians, aid workers, and peacekeepers alike.

The truth of the matter is that the ICC indictment is a momentous event that will have effects that are both obstacles and victories for the path to peace in Darfur. In a situation as complex as the crisis in Darfur, any action will have both constructive and destructive reactions. However, it is up to the international community to act quickly and decisively to ensure that the opportunities presented by the indictment are used to their full advantage and that the very real risks and dangers it creates are managed and minimized.

If we fail to hold true to the course of justice, then we weaken our chance of ever having a true and sustainable peace in Sudan; but if we fail to protect the lives of civilians in Darfur, there will be no one to enjoy a sustainable peace in Sudan.

The ICC has taken a large step – the international community needs to commit to taking equally large steps for peace, or our celebrations over the indictment will not last long.

Darfur: On the largest attack on Peacekeepers in Darfur in the history of the conflict, a convoy of UNAMID soldiers on patrol were ambushed by unidentified and heavily armed militia men mounted on truck and horseback. 7 died and dozens wounded. Although the rebels and the government traded accusations, UN officials have hinted at suspecting the Janjaweed.

The International Criminal Court’s chief Prosecutor, Louis Moreno-Ocampo, will seek an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for genocide and crimes against humanity. This has sparked an intense debate around the world about the question of peace versus justice: the GoS has warned of “disastrous” consequences for innocent civilians and humanitarian if the indictment goes through, leading to more violence, retaliation against peacekeepers, disrupting the peace process. However, this is a long-awaited victory for justice in Darfur, and has been welcomed by many, including Darfur rebels.

The Sudanese Government has turned to the Arab League for help, and the League will hold crisis talks on the subject of Bashir’s indictment. Thousands of Sudanese living in the capitol Khartoum took to the streets to protest the decision.

Sudan: South Sudan says its army has completed pulled out of the disputed region of Abyei and was “seriously disappointed” that the Sudanese army remained there. .

Chad accuses Sudan of violating its airspace

Burma: Fourteen pro-democracy protesters have gone on trial in Burma for demanding the release of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on her 63rd birthday.

Suu Kyi won the elections in 1990 by a landslide 90%, but the Burmese military junta recently has said that a law it passed in 2008 invalidated the election results from 1990. Suu Kyi’s political party, the National League for Democracy, was challenged to contest the junta in he 2010 elections.

John Holmes, the UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, may soon visit Burma to review the humanitarian relief operations there. Meanwhile, the UN has sent out more appeals for relief for Burma

Congo: The ICC Appeals Court decided to suspend the release of former DRC rebel leader and war crimes suspect Thomas Lubanga. Last week, the ICC ordered Lubanga’s release, finding that he would be unable to receive a fair trial because the prosecution failed to turn over all the evidence. The prosecutor immediately appealed the decision. Lubanga will remain in custody in The Hague until a final ruling is issued on Friday.

Rebel leader General Laurent Nkunda agreed to rejoin the peace process agreed upon in a January 2008 agreement, after previously suspending participation.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said efforts to bring peace to eastern DRC must be accelerated. In his latest report on MONUC, the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC, Ban said that the success of the January 2008 ceasefire depends on the “sustained political engagement of all parties”.

Former members of Hutu extremist rebel faction FDLR accused MONUC of selling back to them weapons that had been confiscated by the UN during the disarmament process. The former rebels indicated that MONUC handed over the weapons in return for either money or minerals. They also reported on extensive cooperation between FDLR and FARDC, the Congolese national army.

Unidentified gunmen ambushed a vehicle belonging to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in a gorilla reserve in eastern DRC, killing two and injuring three.

MONUC condemned alleged statements made by a former force commander in support of CNDP, an armed militia group lead by General Laurent Nkunda. MONUC reiterated that it is committed to work toward restoration of peace and security, and stated that disciplinary action will be taken against the officer.

In the March 29 presidential and parliamentary elections, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change won a parliamentary majority for the first time in the country’s history. Since then, President Robert Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party has conducted a systematic campaign of violence, intimidation, and manipulation. The delayed release of election results showed a victory by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, but not enough to prevent a run-off election held on June 27. In reaction, Mugabe and his hard-line supporters lashed out against civilians and opposition supporters.

In this crackdown, MDC rallies were banned, the media was used as a tool for the state, western observers and aid groups were expelled from the country and supporters of the opposition MDC were killed and beaten.

Less than one week before the run-off vote, Tsvangirai pulled out of the election, citing widespread violence against his supporters. At least 103 were killed and 25,000 were forced to flee their homes since the initial release of the election results. Despite calls for the postponement of the run-off election by the South African Development Community, African Union, Nelson Mandela, the UN, and nearly the entire international community, Mugabe vowed to go ahead with the election, where he won his sixth term as president of Zimbabwe on June 27th.

The illegitimate regime in power in Zimbabwe is a clear violation of R2P, the Responsibility to Protect populations from genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity, which the international community agreed upon in 2005. However, the UN Security Council would have to unanimously agree on any action, which seems unlikely. African leaders and institutions, in particular South Africa and it’s president Thabo Mbeki are seen as having the most sway and capability to end the crisis.

Despite ongoing calls for a unity government and negotiations between Mugabe and his ZANU-PF with Tsvangirai and the MDC, Tsvangirai announced recently he would not enter into negotiations unless they were based on the March 29th election. He wants free and fair elections under a new constitution, not a unity government with an illegitimate dictator. In response, Mugabe has recently announced that in order for any negotiations to happen Tsvangirai would have to recognize him as the president of Zimbabwe. Most recently, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa was in Harare Saturday where he met with Mugabe, but Tsvangirai refused to meet with him.

— Will Cragin, Emerging Conflicts Education Coordinator