Opinion | Columnists
Poor response to Darfur crisis
Instead of discussing the issue, Arab countries supported Sudan in rejecting the ICC charges against Al Bashir.
- By Marwan Kabalan, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 00:04 August 1, 2008
- Image Credit: Illustration by Nino Jose Heredia/Gulf News
For the past five years, since the beginning of the crisis, the entire Muslim and Arab world remained silent as innocent civilians in Darfur got killed on a mass scale. The Arab League, for example, decided to move only when an Arab leader, Omar Al Bashir, was formally accused of ethnic cleansing and mass killing. The death of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians was not shocking enough for the official Arab system to take any form of action, the arrest warrant of an Arab leader apparently was.
When the news broke out that the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has formally requested an arrest warrant for Sudan's president on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the past five years of bloodshed in Darfur, an Arab ministerial meeting was hastily arranged in Cairo. Instead of discussing the root of the crisis and try to solve it, Arab foreign ministers issued a statement, supporting the position of the Sudanese government in rejecting the charges against Al Bashir.
Arab regimes seem to have not fully realised the changes which have occurred in the international system over the past two decades. Regimes are no longer in a position to control and subjugate their citizens, let alone killing them. The world can no more tolerate such crimes committed in the name of independence and sovereignty.
During the past five years, according to UN estimates, over 400,000 people have been killed in Darfur while more than two million people have been displaced. The Sudanese-backed Janjaweed militia has routinely raided villages, executed adult males, raped women and girls, burned homes and crops, stolen livestock, and kidnapped children into slavery. Despite these heinous crimes, the Arab and Muslim world failed to condemn the violence in Darfur or assist any effort to protect innocent civilians - most of whom are Muslims. The Arab media has similarly failed to adequately respond to the crisis. Al Jazeera, for example, has never hesitated to condemn the killing of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan, the outspoken satellite channel has nevertheless remained mute concerning Khartoum's policies in Darfur even though the number of Darfurians killed surpasses those in the other two conflicts.
Indeed, one cannot ignore the Western double standard in dealing with humanitarian crises. The West has very often shown indifference towards gross violations of human rights when its interests deemed that necessary. Western nations have remained largely silent when human right of Palestinians, Iraqis and Afghans were violated. The record of the Arab world is not better, however. In fact, the Arab League has consistently supported the Sudanese government. For example, in 2004, the Arab League rejected sanctions and international military intervention regarding Darfur. The Arab League's indifference over the crisis in Darfur made it appear as if it was endorsing the crimes in that region.
Endorsed
In September 2005, more than 150 heads of state - including several Arab and Muslim leaders - gathered at the United Nations for a historic summit. They endorsed a principle known as the "Responsibility to Protect". The principle stated that no nation can hide behind the veil of sovereignty while it conducts or permits crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing. It also implied that other countries cannot turn a blind eye when these events occur beyond their borders just because it does not suit their narrowly-defined national interests.
This principle should be respected and implemented by the entire international community and particularly by the Arab nations. If Arab regimes do not abide by it, they have only themselves to blame. Respect for human rights, international law and for common morality should become key consideration in administering international relations. And for that we must express solidarity not condemnation.
Dr Marwan Kabalan is a lecturer in media and international relations, Faculty of Political Science and Media, Damascus University, Syria.
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