Canadian Consortium on Human Security

Dear Reader,

Several years ago the US government characterized what was going on in Darfur as a genocide. Others, while not willing to use that term have nevertheless decried the widespread human rights violations: the at least 200 000 dead, the two million forcibly displaced, the four million dependant on humanitarian aid. Whatever the situation in Darfur is called, it represents a contemporary human security crisis second only to Rwanda, and an apparent abject failure of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine. In the past five years, nothing has happened on the ground to create a more secure Darfur, despite the “never agains”, despite the diplomacy, and despite the advance of the R2P doctrine. The international community has essentially attempted to fight an inferno with a pail. In doing so, it has risked the lives of innocent civilians and has neglected to vigorously enforce the fragile North-South Peace Agreement, leaving both the stability of central Africa and the credibility of the R2P dangerously close to being engulfed by the flames of Darfur.

When the Sudanese Government attacks its own citizens in Darfur, whose responsibility is it to protect them? In the blame game, fingers are pointed at the US, at China, at the UN and failure of the P5, at the African Union, and at liberal, middle-powers like Canada—the key promoters of Human Security and R2P. In this issue of the Human Security Bulletin our editorial contributors analyze the conflicting interests and priorities of the major international actors in order to understand why they have been either unable or unwilling to take more effective action in Darfur. Gayle Smith outlines how various contextual factors have lead to the “strikingly anemic” response of the U.S., while Lisa Rogoff focuses more narrowly on the impact of the “war on terror” on American policy. Alana Tiemessen and Erin Williams examine the dynamics and implications of the “leveraging games” being played by and against China in its relationship with Sudan. David Ambrosetti explains the U.N. response to the crisis while Tim Shaw and David Black summarize Canada’s role. Finally, the Small Arms Survey's Robert Muggah provides a comprehensive look at the “ecology of arms flows” in Sudan.

Additional information about the local context of the conflict as well as the role of each of the major international players in Darfur has been compiled in a comprehensive list of key resources. This issue of the Bulletin also contains new human security resources and publications, including information about the Small Arms Survey’s new Sudan Human Security Baseline Assessment Project. Lastly, this edition’s CCHS Fellow Profile highlights the work of Phil Orchard, who studies the evolution of international cooperation on refugee issues.

Special thanks to the contributors for taking the time from their important work to contribute to the Bulletin. Thanks also to Kevin Macdonald for technical and website assistance.

Enjoy this edition of the Human Security Bulletin. We welcome your feedback.

Lindsay Mackenzie

cchs.hq@ubc.ca