US administration called on for “new approach” to Sudan

The US administration and the United Nations should demonstrate more commitment to resolving the crisis in Sudan, said Roger Winter, Executive Director of the US Committee for Refugees (USCR) in a testimony to US Congress on 28 March. He said Sudan was suffering the longest uninterrupted civil war in the world, and that more than 2 million Sudanese were estimated to have died of causes directly or indirectly linked to war and “repressive Sudanese government policies”. Winter recommended that US President Bush appoint a Special Envoy as a major foreign policy priority, and should help create an environment for successful negotiations - by “intervening politically to force the [government] to negotiate seriously for a just peace”.

Winter called on the US administration to take decisive action if the government continued to bomb civilian targets in the south. “The US government should regard each bombing as a violation of international humanitarian law... [and] should pressure or embarrass the UN Security Council into appropriate action.” He said the Sudan government had used food as a weapon with “virtual impunity”, and that the US should lead or impose “an entirely new approach to Operation Lifeline Sudan [the UN umbrella group working with the permission of the government in southern Sudan]”.

Winter also criticised what he called the “craven dash to Sudan by European oil companies”, saying it had compromised the will of European governments in forming international policy towards Sudan.