U.S. Must Revive Focus on Sudan If Peace Is To Be Salvaged
Las Cruces Sun-News, April 20, 2007
By Bishop Ricardo Ramirez and Michael Cromartie

Two years ago, the United States helped broker a peace agreement in Sudan that ended two decades of North-South civil war with solemn promises of respect for the rights of all Sudanese and set a road map for normal life to return to that war-shattered nation.

Today, that peace is in jeopardy. The small clique that came to power in Khartoum through a coup in 1989 has not lived up to its commitment to share real power with the former Southern rebels and is either violating or foot-dragging on key elements in the January 2005 peace deal: demarcation of disputed boundaries, revenue-sharing of Sudan's oil wealth, the establishment of local governments that are truly representative of local populations, institutional protections for human rights, and crucial preparations for elections at all levels to establish the principle of democratic accountability.

Also, despite the presence of southerners in the Government of National Unity, Khartoum's military forces and the Khartoum-sponsored "Janjaweed" militia have employed in Darfur the same genocidal tactics first used in the South against Christians, followers of traditional African religions, and Muslims who opposed Khartoum's attempts to impose Islamic law on them. Moreover, despite international condemnation and patient diplomacy, Khartoum has been slow to accept a more robust international peacekeeping presence in Darfur with the mandate and means necessary to protect civilians. China, which has major investments in Sudan, has long served as Khartoum's biggest defender. Now, however, under intense pressure from both diplomats and ordinary citizens incensed that the Beijing Olympics may be remembered as "the Genocide Olympics," even China has joined in pushing Sudan to accept a strong United Nations force to work with the understaffed and under-equipped African Union peacekeepers.

For President Omar Hasan al-Bashir's government, it's business as usual: abusing human rights, stalling on implementation of even the most basic requirements of the peace agreement, and continuing to promote genocide in Darfur. Why should it act otherwise? The country has a projected 13 percent economic growth rate this year as foreign companies stream in to ride the oil boom. The high-level attention of the Bush administration and Congress was pivotal to bringing about the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Our government has strongly and uniquely pressed for U.N. Security Council action on Darfur and supported political and economic development in Southern Sudan, which we saw firsthand when we visited the country last year. U.S. leadership is urgently needed again, particularly when we see the palpable lack of progress in implementing the peace agreement's mechanisms and the genocide in Darfur.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent federal agency, recently wrote a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush, urging his personal engagement in re-energizing peace efforts in Sudan.

Among other recommendations, we called for ensuring that the special envoy on Sudan, Andrew Natsios, has the personnel and other support needed to fulfill his mandate of facilitating the implementation of the CPA and of pursuing peace in Darfur.

We also called for building a coalition with the European Union, Sudan's neighbors and nations such as China and India that have major economic investments in Sudan to press Khartoum to end its delaying tactics on implementation of the peace agreement and United Nations protection efforts in Darfur.

The U.S. should consider new sanctions such as asset freezes and travel bans against individuals and institutions, including the ruling National Congress Party, identified as responsible for serious human rights abuses or for impeding implementation of the 2005 agreement.

Both the northern and southern leadership should be held to the current schedule for elections in 2009 and a referendum in 2011 on the south's political future, ensuring that these are true expressions of popular will and that their results are accepted and implemented.

Finally, the U.S. should continue to support and strengthen the government of Southern Sudan, assist in the development of institutions and infrastructure necessary to protect human rights, deter a resumption of civil war and support the return of refugees and internally displaced persons.

Intense U.S. involvement in these efforts to return peace to Sudan would be a fitting affirmation of our nation's commitment to advancing human rights including religious freedom throughout the world.

Most Reverend Ricardo Ramirez, bishop of the Las Cruces diocese, and Michael Cromartie, vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, are members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2007

Contact:
Judith Ingram, Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom urges Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to press Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem for the immediate release of Father Nguyen Van Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, and others recently arrested for advocating for the freedoms of speech, association, and religion in Vietnam.

Rice meets with Khiem on Thursday, March 15, to discuss agreements reached during President George W. Bush's November visit to Vietnam. Since that visit, Vietnam has received Permanent Normal Trading Relations (PNTR) with the United States, been removed from the State Department's Country of Particular Concern (CPC) list for severe violations of religious freedom-an action that was premature, in the Commission's view-and joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Only a few weeks after gaining WTO membership, Vietnam has initiated an extensive crackdown on democracy and human rights activists.

"The timing of this crackdown-only a few weeks after getting into WTO-raises serious questions about the government's credibility on its pledges to respect human rights, including freedom of religion," said Felice D. Gaer, chair of the Commission.

Father Ly and Nguyen Van Dai have been vocal proponents of religious freedom in Vietnam. This work has led them to press for greater democracy and legal reforms, as well as protections for the freedoms of speech, assembly and association.

"We urge Secretary Rice to seek the immediate release of Father Ly and other human rights defenders in Vietnam. Moreover, the U.S. should make the strongest possible case to the Government of Vietnam that the responsibilities of joining the international community are not fully realized by Vietnam's WTO membership. Protection for universal human rights must come first," Gaer said.

Father Ly, founder of the Vietnam Progression Party and one of the editors of "Freedom of Speech" magazine, was arrested on February 18 in Hue. He was also one of the original founders of the Block 8406 democracy movement, which started in April 2006 when hundreds of people signed public petitions calling for greater democracy and human rights.

Previously, Father Ly was arrested in 2001 and sentenced to 15 years in prison after submitting written testimony to the USCIRF, in which he was highly critical of the state of religious freedom in Vietnam and advocated that the U.S. Congress should refrain from ratifying the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement due to the Vietnamese Government's lack of respect for human rights and freedom of religion. Father Ly had been released in a general amnesty in 2005.

Nguyen Van Dai, one of Vietnam's few human rights lawyers, was arrested in Hanoi on March 6. He has defended individuals arrested for their religious activities, and is co-founder of the Committee for Human Rights in Vietnam and one of the principal organizers of Block 8406.

The two have been charged with disseminating propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam under Article 88 of the Penal Code. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison.

Others who have been arrested, temporarily detained or interrogated include Father Chun Tin and Father Phan Van Loi, Pastor Nguyen Quang, and Nguyen Cong Chinh, and lawyers Li Thi Cong Nhan and Le Quoc Quan.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2007

Contact:
Judith Ingram, Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240, ext. 127

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan federal agency, has sent a letter to President George W. Bush urging renewed U.S. leadership to achieve implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of January 2005 that brought an official end to the North-South civil war in Sudan and to advance United Nations protection efforts in Darfur. The Commission urges President Bush to use his personal prestige to enlist international support to press Khartoum to end its delaying tactics on CPA implementation.

USCIRF is concerned that the North-South peace is in jeopardy and that the crisis in Darfur, in addition to being a dire human tragedy, has contributed to severe delays in implementing CPA mechanisms, including promised commissions to resolve disputes over distribution of Sudan’s oil wealth and boundaries, elections, revenue-sharing, local governance and human rights.

At a reception March 13 honoring the Congressional Human Rights Caucus’ Task Force on International Religious Freedom and highlighting its upcoming work on Sudan, Commission Chair Felice D. Gaer said: “In this dark hour, when the progress enshrined in the CPA is imperiled, we urge you to exercise leadership in pressing Khartoum to end its delaying tactics on CPA implementation and United Nations protection efforts in Darfur.”

“The high-level attention of the Administration was pivotal to bringing about the CPA in January 2005 and is sorely needed today, when we note the palpable lack of progress in implementing the CPA’s mechanisms and the genocide in Darfur,” Gaer added.

Following is the full text of the letter, including recommendations.

March 13, 2007

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States of America
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent, bipartisan federal body, respectfully requests your leadership to prevent the Sudanese people from losing the hard-won gains that owe so much to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of January 2005. In addition to the grave situation in Darfur, North-South peace in Sudan appears to be in jeopardy. Now is the time to renew the high-level attention of your Administration that was pivotal to bringing about the CPA in 2005 and is so sorely needed today. In this dark hour, when the progress enshrined in the CPA is imperiled, we urge you to exercise leadership in pressing Khartoum to end its delaying tactics on CPA implementation and United Nations protection efforts in Darfur.

Sudan is now almost halfway between the signing of the CPA in January 2005 and national elections that should be held by July 2009. Although the CPA brought a halt to Sudan's North-South civil war, there has been a palpable lack of progress in implementing the CPA's mechanisms, including the promised commissions to resolve disputes over the distribution of Sudan's oil wealth and boundaries, elections, revenue-sharing, local governance and human rights, and the Commission for the Protection of the Rights of non-Muslims in the National Capital.

The genocide in Darfur is necessarily a huge focus of the world’s attention. In addition to the tragic consequences for its victims, the Darfur crisis has severely delayed implementation of the CPA. Since 2003, government forces and “Janjaweed” have carried out a genocide in slow motion. Though Darfur is a Muslim region, Khartoum’s policies and tactics regarding Darfur are shockingly similar to those it used previously in the South, where the victims were predominantly Christians or followers of traditional African religions. The Darfur conflict illustrates a broader pattern of deliberate marginalization and resource-deprivation of all of Sudan’s regions with non-Arab or non-Muslim populations by an unrepresentative and unelected elite drawn from a handful of tribes in the Khartoum area.

Implementation of the CPA, including elections to establish representative democratic institutions and governmental accountability at all levels, would go a long way to end the concentration of political power that has led to so much bloodshed.

More efforts are obviously needed, not only by the United States, but by others concerned with stability in a volatile and resource-rich part of the world: our European allies, Sudan’s neighbors, and countries such as China and India that are Khartoum’s economic partners in the oil sector and whose expanding international roles entail increased responsibilities for international peace and security.

The Commission calls on your Administration to lead others in ensuring high-level action on implementation of the CPA. Specifically, we ask you to use your personal prestige to enlist international support, including from the European Union, Sudan’s neighbors and nations such as China and India to press Khartoum to end its delaying tactics on CPA implementation. Other specific recommendations are included in an appendix to this letter.

Mr. President, success in Sudan is still achievable but it is absolutely contingent on sustained and far-reaching U.S. leadership. Thank you for considering the Commission’s recommendations on how that success can be secured.

Very truly yours,

Felice D. Gaer
Chair

cc: The Honorable Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State
The Honorable Stephen J. Hadley, National Security Advisor
The Honorable John Hanford, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom
The Honorable Jendayi Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
The Honorable Michael Kozak, Senior Director for Democracy, Human Rights, and International Operations, National Security Council
Andrew Natsios, Special Envoy for Sudan

Appendix

The Commission on International Religious Freedom recommends that the U.S. government should take the lead in the following areas:

Coalition Building

• Build on the Special Envoy’s efforts by lending your personal prestige to enlist international support, including from the European Union, Sudan’s neighbors and nations such as China and India that have major economic investments in Sudan, to press Khartoum to end its delaying tactics on CPA implementation.

Verification and Follow-through

• Continue to press for the complete and timely implementation of the CPA's human rights, power-sharing, revenue-sharing, and security arrangements; complete compliance must include Khartoum's unconditional acceptance of the decision of the Abyei Boundary Commission, the verifiable termination of all support for militias or elements of the Ugandan insurgent Lord’s Resistance Army operating in the South, and the lifting of restrictions on peaceful political activities throughout the country in advance of elections;
• Hold both the Northern leadership and the SPLM/A to the current schedule for elections and referenda, ensuring that these are true expressions of popular will and that their results are accepted and implemented.
• Investigate and publicly report to the Congress every six months on the status of implementation of the CPA, with a particular focus on violations, assessing responsibility and indicating what actions are to be taken by the U.S. government in response; violations to be investigated should include the role of the Sudanese Armed Forces and associated militias in the November 2006 fighting in Malakal and Khartoum's possible continued support for the Lord's Resistance Army; and
• Consider new sanctions as needed to respond to non-compliance with the terms of the CPA, including targeted sanctions such as asset freezes and travel bans against individuals and institutions, e.g., the National Congress Party, identified as responsible for serious human rights abuses or for impeding CPA implementation.

Strengthening the Peace

• Continue to support and strengthen the Government of Southern Sudan, assisting in the development of institutions and infrastructure necessary to protect human rights, to deter a resumption of civil war, to support the return of refugees and internally displaced persons, and to prepare the South for the 2011 referendum on the South's political future;
• Remove remaining U.S. sanctions from all areas under the control of the Government of Southern Sudan and local institutions in the border areas of Abyei, Southern Blue Nile, and the Nuba Mountains, including sanctions on communications equipment; and
• Provide, well in advance of the 2011 referendum, specific security guarantees for the South in the event that Khartoum seeks to renew the North-South civil war or otherwise impose its will by force in violation of the CPA.

Increasing Resources

• Ensure that Special Envoy Natsios has the personnel and other support needed to fulfill his mandate of facilitating the implementation of the CPA and of pursuing peace in Darfur;
• Appoint a high-level official to ensure that U.S. resources and influence are used effectively to assist the safe and voluntary return of Sudan's refugees and internally displaced persons; and
• Strengthen the capability of the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum to monitor implementation of the crucial human rights provisions of the CPA and to report on human rights abuses, including religious freedom in the North, as well as to advance the U.S. human rights agenda in Sudan by appointing a ranking official reporting to the Ambassador and working full-time on human rights.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.