Background: Sudan is Africa’s largest country and has been historically divided along geographic, cultural, ethnic, and religious lines. The most recent outbreak of war in Sudan erupted following the imposition of Shari’a law in southern Sudan in 1983. Since that time, more than 2 million people have died while at least 4 million others have been forcibly displaced and now live in camps for the internally displaced in Khartoum and elsewhere in Sudan, or as refugees in neighboring countries. The war has been marked by a systematic campaign of terror by the government in Khartoum against Christians and practitioners of African traditional religions. Sources of conflict include forced conversion to Islam, the destruction of African culture, political marginalization, and the thirst to control the oil fields in southern Sudan.

Facts about Sudan Geography: 2.376 million square kilometers (more than one quarter the size of the U.S. Population: over 38 million Population Growth: 2.7% Life Expectancy: 58 years Religions: 70% Sunni Muslim; 22% Indigenous Traditional; 8% Christian (south, Khartoum) Ethnic Groups: 52% Black African; 39% Arab; 6% Bejan; 2% foreigners. Economy: 80% of Sudanese work in Agriculture; oil production equals 250,000 barrels per day; $2 billion in oil revenue per year.

Since July, 2002 the government of Khartoum and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) have been working on the details of the Machakos Protocol which establishes the framework for a comprehensive peace agreement. This Protocol calls for a six-year interim period that would enable the people of the south to establish a civilian administration and regional army, and at the end of which a referendum would be held to determine whether the south will remain part of a united Sudan. Additional elements of the Protocol include the creation of a wealth-sharing mechanism (independent trust) to manage the distribution of national revenues. A separate symposium was created to deal with the future of three disputed territories – Abeyei (center of the oil fields), Nuba Mountains, and southern Blue Nile, areas that have predominantly sided with the SPLM/A during the war. On January 7, 2004 the government and the SPLM/A signed an agreement which provides for the sharing of oil revenues on a 50/50 basis between the Government of Sudan (Khartoum) and the Government of Southern Sudan (to be created following the signing of a peace agreement). No final agreement has been reached on the future status of Abeyei, Nuba Mountains, and Blue Nile, nor have agreements been signed with regards to the new political structures that will operate during the six-year interim period.
While the U.S. government, together with the member states of the Inter-Governmental Agency on Development (IGAD), push the parties to sign a framework for peace as a further step towards the eventual signing of a comprehensive peace agreement, a troubling development continues to unfold in western Sudan where rebel forces united under the banner of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) have been engaged in conflict with the government and government-sponsored militia forces since February 2003. The SLM accuses the government of sidelining the region of Darfur, depriving it of much needed development assistance, and of failing to address substantive grievances of other opposition groups in the IGAD peace negotiations. Independent reports indicate that over 3,000 civilians have died, more than 600,000 have been internally displaced, and an additional 100,000 have fled to neighboring Chad. The government in Khartoum has closed the region to humanitarian agencies and has forcibly closed camps for the internally displaced. There are serious concerns about food security for the nearly 3 million people who are affected throughout the region. Reports further indicate that the government is conducting indiscriminate aerial attacks against villages and other civilian targets in the region, and also has launched attacks inside the eastern border of Chad. There also are reports of rapes and other committed against innocent civilian populations.

Should a comprehensive agreement be signed, immediate and sustained development assistance will be needed to help consolidate the resolve of the parties and provide the means necessary for southern Sudan to undertake a comprehensive program of reconstruction. A peace agreement in Sudan could also greatly contribute to efforts to help bring an end to the conflict in northern Uganda between the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Ugandan government.

USCCB Position: Sudan has been a major priority for the USCCB with ongoing advocacy and active solidarity with and for the people of Sudan. We continue to work closely with the Catholic Church in Sudan in the pursuit of a just and lasting peace. Our Conference has repeatedly visited northern and southern Sudan and has been very active in Washington, DC where we have played a major role in the policy debate. Catholic Relief Services (CRS), one of the largest non-governmental organizations operating in Sudan, provided relief to approximately 400 thousand Sudanese in 2003. In addition, CRS manages the Southern Sudan Agricultural Revitalization Project, the largest agricultural development program in Sudan. In partnership with local and international organizations, CRS also supports initiatives focused on peacebuilding, health, and education.

Join the USCCB In:

1. Urging the U.S. Government to press the government in Khartoum for unimpeded humanitarian access into the region of Darfur, and ensure protection of humanitarian workers and supplies.
   
   
2. Encouraging the U.S. Administration and the international community to remain intensely engaged in the peace process and to use active diplomatic pressure to press the parties to move more quickly towards a comprehensive agreement.
   
   
3. Calling on the U.S. Government to lead international efforts to contribute the resources needed for capacity building and reconstruction to address the consequences of conflict and neglect.

Resources
See “Implementing U.S. Policy in Sudan,” Testimony by CRS before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and “Findings and Policy Recommendations,” Delegation of U.S. Catholic Bishops to Sudan, 2001 and other related statements on Sudan at: www.usccb.org/sdwp/international.

For further information: Fr. Michael Perry, OFM, Office of International Justice and Peace, USCCB, 202-541-3149, mperry@usccb.org; Dan Griffin, Catholic Relief Services, 202-625-2220, dgriffin@catholicrelief.org.

Email us at sdwpmail@usccb.org
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