Dear friends,

I told you in my last email about the portion of my trip to Sudan working on the issue of the Abyei area. In this update I want to let you know about what I did and saw while I was in Darfur. During this trip to Darfur, my second to the critical region, I identified three vital, urgent issues that require our immediate attention: humanitarian assistance, IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) returns, and Darfuri civil society mobilization.

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

Seeing the conditions in Darfur on this trip reinforced my view that the situation there is dynamic and continues to evolve. Although insecurity still persists as a result of increased crime, banditry, and rebel-on-rebel conflict, the death tolls and violent crime have continued their downward trend. The level of violence is still unacceptable, but the trend is promising. While in Darfur, I paid particularly close attention to the humanitarian situation to determine whether the government is fulfilling its commitment to restore and ultimately exceed the humanitarian assistance levels that existed before the March 3rd NGO expulsions. Three new NGOs are poised to start operations in Darfur over the next month. This is a very positive development, but sizeable gaps still exist, and more work is needed to reduce bureaucratic and administrative delays.

IDP RETURNS

While continuing to focus closely on humanitarian assistance capacity and delivery, we are also trying to plan and preparing for voluntary IDP returns. The issue of IDPs leaving the camps to return to their or other villages is already emerging as a crucially important and controversial issue in what is already a highly charged environment in Darfur. I’m certainly cognizant of the need to proceed cautiously in planning and preparing for voluntary returns. I plan on working closely with other relevant offices and agencies to prepare a consolidated US plan to support voluntary returns once it is clear that the proper conditions are in place.

DARFURI CIVIL SOCIETY

Finally, I used my visit to renew efforts to bring Darfuri communities together to tackle their problems with one voice. I urged the communities to use their indigenous conflict resolution mechanisms to address the underlying causes of the conflict, including the difficult issues of compensation, land rights, and the final status of the Darfur region. My hope is that these empowered communities can not only tackle these problems locally, but can also mobilize to pressure the armed movements to seriously engage in sustained negotiations to achieve a workable ceasefire in Darfur.

LOOKING AHEAD

By no means are these the only issues facing Darfur. We still need to unify the Darfuri rebel groups, end the proxy war in Chad, reduce the level of violence in Darfur, and work towards a comprehensive ceasefire and workable peace agreement. Instead, these are the three most urgent issues to arise out of my trip and the meetings I had there. We cannot address any of these issues by themselves. Instead, we must employ a multifaceted approach that recognizes the linkages between the array of issues facing Darfur and Sudan.

This week I will be testifying about the current situation in Sudan in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I’ll be in touch soon to let you know about the rest of my trip to Sudan, and to update you on my testimony in the Senate.

Thank you for your dedication to achieving peace, stability, and prosperity in Sudan, Scott.