Keiara Cole

ANTH 110-04
September 22, 2022
Darfur 1

1. The Darfur is an area in South Sudan, starting 2003 there has been an extreme amount
of distraction and mass fatality. The Sudan Liberation Army/Movement and the Justice
and Equality Movement are two rebel leagues who went against the Sudanese
government. This is stemming from abuse of power on the part of the Sudanese
government. The regime silenced the voices of its citizens, has ties with armies that
participate in genocide, have children participate in their militias and use rape as a
weapon of war. As a result the country has experienced mass burning of villages, high
mortality rates, and countless cases rape. Officials send reporters away so there’s no
way to report any human rights violations. The regime also removed any organization
that provided help to rape victims.

2. The two parties involved are the rebel groups and the Sudanese government. The rebel
groups consist of the Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/M) and the Justice and
Equality Movement (JEM). The Sudanese government is working closely with the Arab
militia, also called Janjaweed.

3. According to the United Nations website, human rights can be defined as:

rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity,
language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and
liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the
right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights,
without discrimination. (United Nations)

Many human rights issues can be seen in the conflict occurring in Sudan. There have
been many direct and indirect killings of civilians, which violates the right to life and
liberty. There have been mass burning of villages which violates the right to torture. The
Sudanese government is suppressing independent voices, this violates the right to
freedom of opinion and expression.

4. According to the United Nations website, genocide can be defined as:

any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a
national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: Killing members of the
group; Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its
physical destruction in whole or in part; Imposing measures intended to prevent
births within the group; Forcibly transferring children of the group to another
group. (United Nations)
 The extreme violence taking place in Darfur is considered a genocide. This is because
the Arab Janjaweed militants have been committing crimes against specifically Black
villagers and displacing thousands of people. This lines up perfectly with the United
Nation’s definition of genocide.

5. I can draw a connection between what is happening in the Darfur and the United States.
There is a seed of anti-blackness that permeates throughout so many cultures and
nations. This is especially true in America. We can see how racism is ingrained in our
society today in things such as redlining, the wage gap, access to healthcare, food
deserts and much more. Although the United States takes on a more subtle approach,
racism is racism no matter what package you put it in. The United States should not get
involved. My outlook on many different aspects of foreign intervention is the same. It can
be compared to the procedure on a crashing plane. The flight attendants tell you to put
your own mask and vest on before you tend to anyone else. It should be the same for
foreign policy. The United States has countless amounts of things it could spend its
money and efforts on to improve our own country. The United States has been seeing
political events that are unheard of in recent history. For example, the January 6th
storming of the capitol building. If we are not mindful of our own issues, we eventually
may be in a position where we aren’t able to help any other countries due to our own
chaos.
Annotated Bibliography

Prendergrast, John. 2009. “Five myths about genocide and violence in Sudan.” The
Washington Post, December 20, 2009.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/18/
AR2009121802048.html?tid=lk_inline_manual_22&itid=lk_inline_manual_22
This Washington Post article gives five common misconceptions about the genocide
occurring in Darfur, Sudan. It details why the genocide is not over, and how China’s
investment in oil plays a role in the continuation of the violence in Sudan. The article
goes into failed past attempts to force Sudan to end this mass genocide, and suggests
that incentives may be the key. There is also an explanation as to why the indictment of
the Sudanese president won't disrupt peace efforts. Lastly the article touches on the
many ways the United States could get involved to put an end to the crimes in Sudan.

CNN. 2004. “Powell calls Sudan killings genocide” CNN, September 09, 2004
https://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/09/09/sudan.powell/
This CNN article states that the Secretary of State has declared the violence in Sudan
as a Genocide. This comes after his trip to Chad and interviewing over 1,100 refugees.
The findings from the interviews were consistent with numerous reports from human
rights groups. The article goes on to explain the draft that the United Nations has
created in response to the genocide, and how Powell defines the term genocide.

United Nations. n.d. “Genocide”

Accessed September 22, 2022
https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/genocide.shtml
This is a page on the United Nations’ website. It gives background information as to how
the term genocide was coined, and when it first became a crime. The website also goes
into detail about what exactly genocide is, and how something is determined to be
genocide.

United Nations. n.d. “Human Rights”

Accessed September 22, 2022
https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/human-rights
This is a page on the United Nations’ website. It gives background information as to
what human rights are and how that term is defined. It goes into different factors of
human rights such as economical, social, civil and political. The website also gives
information on the International Human Rights Law. It goes into how the Human Rights
Council works to ensure equality of treatment for people in every country.

United Nations. 2021. “Sudan: 250 killed, over 100,000 displaced as violence surges
in Darfur.” Posted January 22, 2021.
Accessed September 22, 2022
https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/01/1082722
This article details the cycle of violence occurring in Sudan. It details the thousands of
refugees who fled to Chad, and the process of them achieving safety. The refugees
were faced with another set of difficulties as they were fleeing their country during a
global pandemic. The healthcare industry in Sudan is overwhelmed with the amount of
casualties. The violence is decreasing however, there is still a risk of further violence in
the country.