IntroductionHuman Rights Watch calls on international donors meeting in Oslo on April 11 and 121 to ensure that human rights protection and the rule of law are accorded a central place in post-conflict reconstruction in Sudan. Implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed on January 9, 2005 between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) provides a critical opportunity for injecting human rights protections into Sudan’s political, legal and societal structures, particularly those of the regional government in southern Sudan, which has yet to be formed. Human Rights Watch urges donors to provide sufficient and specific funding for human rights and rule of law programming including the human rights components of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), human rights measures called for in Security Council Resolutions 1590, 1591 and 1593 (2005) as well as the CPA.2 We call on donors to prioritize the following areas for funding: justice and the rule of law, human rights monitoring, reintegration of refugees and displaced persons, women and children’s rights, transparency and accountability in governance, including a south-south conference and land and property issues. At the same time, donors must take further steps to end the ongoing human rights crisis in Darfur. Much greater international support is needed to protect civilians and reverse the ethnic cleansing that has taken place. While the Security Council referral of the situation of Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC) is an excellent step that should lead to a reduction in abuses, more international military presence is required in Darfur to protect civilians who need to return to their homes and farms to cultivate. Without an improvement in the dire security situation that currently prevents displaced persons from returning home, ethnic cleansing will be consolidated and the humanitarian crisis will continue to expand. The World Food Programme estimates that up to 3.5 million persons in Darfur could need food assistance in 2005, compared to two million in 2004. [1] At the conference, the United Nations will present its 2005 work plan for Sudan (2005 United Nations and Partners Work Plan for the Sudan), divided into north and south Sudan, Darfur, eastern Sudan and transitional areas’ sectors, and provide a status report on immediate humanitarian needs and the response of the international community. The Joint Assessment Mission (JAM) will put forward its report on immediate and long-term reconstruction and development requirements for Sudan following the signing of the CPA ending the two-decades-long conflict between the government of Sudan and the SPLM. [2] The U.N. Work Plan envisions support to the protection and promotion of human rights and the rule of law as one of its five strategic priorities for 2005 and identifies several key areas of focus. In addition, Security Council Resolutions 1590 (establishing the U.N. Mission in Sudan), 1591 (sanctions enforcement) and 1593 (referring the situation of Darfur to the International Criminal Court) contain provisions on promoting and protecting human rights and the rule of law in Sudan and Darfur, and on ending human rights violations and increasing security for civilians and internally displaced persons in Darfur and refugees in Chad.
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