Stand in the Gap for Darfur

On our watch

There is an interesting documentary on PBS Frontline called ON OUR WATCH.  The documentary asks why the UN and its member states have failed to stop the continuing violence in Darfur.  There are also insightful interviews posted with UN officials, authors/researchers to try and answer why the violence has happened on our watch when the international community vowed never again after Rwanda and Srebenica. 

My apologies for not posting recently.  I became discouraged with the apparent lack of progress after the peace talks and the slow movement to garner an equipped peacekeeping mission for Darfur.  We all need encouragement to press on in prayer and action despite what continues to unfold on our watch.  Therefore, I would love to hear and share your stories on what you, your family/friends, church is doing to stand in the gap on behalf of Darfur.   

Let our prayers continue to be....God come quickly to bring your mercy and lasting change.

Compassion with Kick

Last night a number of people gathered for our monthly prayer time on Darfur at my house and I thought I would share some of what was discussed from an article written by Bryant Myers in the Brandywine Review of Faith And International Affairs called "Compassion with an Attitude: a Humanitarian's View of Human Suffering." 

Compassion with an Attitude Defined... 
He defines compassion on three levels:

1. "Compassion begins with seeing the suffering of others and being willing to listen to its call.  If we are willing to see and to hear, we must next be willing to feel. The first part of being truly and incarnationally compassionate is to be moved to the core of our being with pity and outrage when in the presence of human suffering."

2.  "To hear, see, and feel is the foundation of compassion.  Yet it is not compassion itself.  In its fullest sense, compassion is an action word.  Driven by conviction and mercy, we must act..."

3.  "Compassion actions that Jesus took were not just ameliorative. Compassion is more than mercy and more than simple response.  Biblical compassion has a bias in favor of social restoration.." (ie. showing compassion to refugees but also unmasking the human greed and hunger for power that created the conflict from which refugees flee)

He goes on to describe three marks of a church that has embraced "incarnational empathy".  1) Sacrificial giving, 2) Social Restorative Actions - making noise in polite and powerful places or tacking the injustices that cause suffering, and 3) Prayer.

What does this have to do with Darfur?  I am still learning the what and how but I do know that we can prayer for God and His Glory to be revealed even in the midst of the mess of Sudan and that Jesus' model of compassion is a challenge for us to see, feel, respond, and speak out.

Praying for Peace Talks

What's new in Darfur/Sudan headlines?  A lot! 

The Comprehensive peace agreement between the north and south is crumbling as the SPLM (southern government) suspended its participation last week in the National unity government of Khartoum due to the failure of President Bashir's party to implement the north-south peace agreement (Economist).

The BBC reports today:

"Several Darfur rebel groups - at least seven factions - are gathering in Sudan's southern city of Juba in an attempt to find a common negotiating position with the Khartoum government ahead of the Libya peace talks (set to begin Saturday)."

A prominent rebel group (section of SLM) and five other rebel factions have indicated they will not be attending the peace talks (Reuters).

What will make the change and bring stability?  Comments similar to this one in the Economist are numerous regarding the role China plays:

"Nobody matters more than China. The biggest consumer of Sudan's oil has belatedly started to play its part over Darfur. It is in China's interest to have a stable Sudan."

In our shrinking globalized earth, China is no longer simply a remote country, but has far-reaching influence on development, trade, business, and security.   

Whether China, the U.N., the U.S. or other bilaterals have the most influence for the peace talks, I believe we need to pray for a number of things including... 1) The North-South peace agreement to hold, 2) UNITY and Reconciliation between the rebel groups, 3) Peace and reconciliation agenda to trump interest for outside economic gain and 4) A productive, lasting, renewed Darfur peace agreement to come out of the talks beginning Saturday.  What do you think is important and what are you praying for?

Please stand in the gap on behalf of this land in advocating for change and praying for God's hand of mercy to be instrumental in bringing peace.

Increasing Violence Leading up to Peace Talks

As I have watched various news items on Darfur flash across my BBC World News home page over the last few weeks, I must admit I have grown increasingly discouraged and have been avoiding updating this blog. 

During this time leading up to the peace talks, there has been an increase in violence in Darfur putting  both civilians, aid workers and peacekeepers in the crossfire. Fighting between the only Darfur rebel group (SLA – Minawi) that signed the Darfur peace agreement and the government of Sudan

has started.  There has been a build up of Sudanese armed forces in Darfuri towns and increased attacks on villages in the south by government forces.  There were attacks over a week ago by rebels on a UN/AU base where 10 peacekeepers were killed. The NY Times clearly articulates the problem:

"The attack was the most dramatic display yet of the new kind of chaos that is engulfing the Darfur region of Sudan, where the conflict has morphed from a rebellion and brutal counterinsurgency into a free-for-all between dozens of armed groups, with aid workers and peacekeepers increasingly in their sights."

Not that the war in Dafur was ever black and white but the increasing complexity makes it even more difficult to see who is fighting for what and for whom.  Are there any groups that are serious about coming to the table on October 27th for the peace talks in Libya?  Will the Darfuri people have their voice heard at these talks?  Where should the Christian voice be during this time and what should we advocating and praying for?  At our last monthly Darfur prayer meeting we focused on forgiveness and new forms of reconciliation. What are your prayers?  What are your thoughts?

Justice and Peace

After a successful meeting on Darfur at the U.N. last week, the UN Secretary General made his comments to the press outlining the outcomes of the meeting and a joint UN/AU press communique was issued.   One simple phrase stuck out to me from Secretary Ban Ki-Moon's words,

"As I have stated, justice is a part of the peace process, and these should go hand in hand."

Given that justice should be a part of the peace process and as the:

• 62nd UN General Assembly meets this week and will enter into discussions on Darfur,
• as aid convoys and villages continue to be attacked,
• and as the conflict spills over to displace people in Eastern Chad and Central African Republic,

the lines from the Book of Common Prayer collects for justice and peace seem relevant to pray....

"Almighty God, who created us in your own image: Grant us grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace with oppression; and that we may reverently use our freedom, help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our communities and among the nations..."

"Almighty God, kindle, we pray, in every heart the true love of peace, and guide with your wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the earth..."

Share any prayers that you have so we may join together in one voice to stand in the gap.

Points of Progress One step at a Time

There is a high-level Darfur UN/AU meeting scheduled for this Friday September 21st in New York with 26 countries invited to discuss a road map for peace.  The UN and Sudanese government have also agreed to a date of October 27th for the meeting in Tripoli for the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels to begin peace talks.    Amidst this seemingly slow diplomatic process, the UN says violence in camps is increasing and nearly a quarter million people are either newly or re-displaced in 2007.

Are you encouraged by these steps towards a new peace agreement?  Do you think the U.N. and the International community is doing enough to move things forward?

Let's join in prayer for the meeting tomorrow at the U.N. and for continued but SWIFT step-by-step progress towards a lasting peace for Darfur's people.

Laying the Foundations for Expanded U.N. Action

The U.N. Secretary-General arrived in Khartoum today to meet with Sudanese officials to discuss progress on resolving conflict in Darfur.    He is also planning to make a trip into the South and into the Darfur region to see the "situation" prior to deployment of the UN peacekeeping force next year.  The UN News reports the Secretary-General saying in his first address:

“As for human rights, we have only to look around us to see how far Sudan has to go in upholding human rights and protecting people from suffering.”

Let's hope and pray that the Secretary-General's visit with the Sudanese president will foster a change in policy towards Darfur and establish a foundation for the future peacekeeping mission.

Other international leaders have also been vocal in their commitments to new action for Darfur.  Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy published a commentary in the Times London on August 31st on their plans to push for Darfur peace.

This UN SG's visit and new movement on Darfur is encouraging and hopeful given that reports on the humanitarian and security situation in Darfur remain dire.

Stepping carefully in Sudan politics

The EU envoy and the Canadian diplomat were expelled out of Darfur last week for what was described as ''meddling in its affairs,'' without further explanations.  After an EU apology, the Sudan government agreed for the EU envoy to carry out the rest of his term (3 weeks) and a new envoy will be allowed to take the post.  This week the head of Care International , an NGO operating one of the largest relief efforts in Darfur was expelled without explanation.  Is this a new strategy of the Sudan government?  Are the expulsions related to last week's attack by government forcues on rebels in a camp and the international community's outcry?  Agencies and governments working through diplomatic routes and advocacy initiatives to end the conflict in Darfur will need to continue stepping very carefully within Sudan's political landscape.

Next Steps towards peace?

There has been some good movement in the last two weeks on possible steps towards a renewed peace process for Darfur. UN resolution 1769 was passed to deploy 26,000 in a joint UN-AU peacekeeping misison.  If fully deployed, it would be the largest UN misison in the world.  The new UNAMID mandates protection of civilians and will operate under unified U.N. command. Pledges by African nations for 11,000-12,000 troops for the joint mission have been made. Meeting of the leaders of Darfur's armed movements in Tanzania in early August began "pre-negotiations" for future peace talks scheduled in October. Although these represent positive and encouraging steps towards potential change for Darfur, there are still a few outstanding questions.

1) The peacekeeping mission is still dependent on the full cooperation of the Sudan government.  Will there be sufficient and effective cooperation by the GoS for the mission to deploy? 

2) The success of the peacekeeping mission is also dependent on U.N. member states committing police, troops, military hardware and logistics support to cover such a large area.  Will enough support be sufficiently galvanized?

3)  Several of the Darfur rebel groups were not present at the recent Tanzania talks.  Will unity among Darfur rebel groups and an agreed common agenda be reached through facilitation by U.N. and African mediators?

4).  An interesting study reported in a NY times article raises further question on where the focus of effort should be right now in order to protect the lives of Darfurians. 

The Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disaster estimated that nearly 70 percent of Darfur's excess deaths were due not to violence but to disease and malnutrition.  This suggest that policy makers should look for ways to bolster and protect relief groups- by continuing to demand that the Sudanese government not hamper the delivery of aid, to be sure, but also by putting vigorous public pressure, so far lacking, on the dozen rebel groups that routinely raid convoys.

Please join in praying for these unanswered questions related to a renewed peace process and for ongoing protection for the people of Darfur from disease and violence.

Peacekeepers for Darfur - Now or Never?

There are innumerable places one could start blogging about Darfur.   As indicated under "About this blog" I hope that Standing in the Gap for Darfur will create awareness of current issues in Darfur, offer resources and stimulate dialogue about ways we can respond and pray.  I don't pretend to know or understand more than any other person on this issue but I believe it to be one of the most pressing international issues today and we cannot just sit back and watch.   So....let's jump into the mess together and see where the journey takes us.

There is a current debate going on at the security council over resolution language for deployment of the UN-AU peacekeeprs.  There have been numerous U.N. resolutions on Sudan but this resolution is key to defining the mandate of the UN-AU hybrid force and the timeline for the peacekeeping deployment.  Recent developments in Sudan and activities of the security council are well outlined by an NGO that monitors and reports on council activities. 

The U.S. is advocating for a September deployment of peacekeepers instead of December.  Let's hope and pray that multilateral conflict resolution at the U.N. is effective and that this second attempt at deploying an authorized security council peacekeeping mission will not fail.