http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/index/ en U.S. Department of State 2008-08-20T15:01:00-05:00 About the Author: Heather Hwalek works in the State Department's Office of Sudan Programs Group.

Members of the State Department's Office of Sudan Programs Group are frequently sought out to participate in conferences held in Washington to discuss the situation in Sudan and the conflict in Darfur. But rarely is there an opportunity to travel halfway around the world -- all the way to Beijing -- to engage Chinese scholars and a diverse group of international actors on the topic.

In June, Sudan Programs Group Deputy Director Jason Small and Desk Officer Kemi Yai boarded a 14-hour flight to China's capital city to attend the country's first public forum on Darfur. A government-affiliated think tank, the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), hosted a two-day conference on "Peace and Development" in Darfur. Academics and NGO representatives from various African, Middle Eastern and European countries joined Chinese academics and government officials from Sudan to discuss the root causes of the conflict, the current situation and trends, possibilities for a peace settlement, and the responsibility of the international community. The conference was an avenue for China to detail for the international community their policy towards Sudan and efforts to end the violence in Darfur. The conference was especially timely given the media hype over China hosting the Summer Olympics next month.

Chinese representatives detailed the Darfur conflict as a fight over resources that could largely be resolved by development assistance. Jason highlighted the challenges to achieving peace in Darfur and the U.S. government's efforts to help meet this goal, such as the contribution of over $5 billion in humanitarian, peacekeeping, and development assistance, financial and logistical support to help train and equip African peacekeeping troops, and continuous engagement in the political process. Kemi Yai spoke on obstacles to the Darfur political process, namely fragmentation of rebel groups and the tenuous relationship between the governments of Chad and Sudan. Jason and Kemi also met with the Chinese Special Envoy to Sudan.

The international community has widely recognized China's strategic importance in addressing Sudan issues. The U.S. government has specifically encouraged China to help pressure the Sudanese government to facilitate the deployment of the joint UN/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), end the flow of conventional arms to belligerent parties in Darfur, and support humanitarian groups operating in the region. Although China is often criticized for its relationship with the Government of Sudan, it is important to realize that the Chinese have supplied personnel to both UN missions in Darfur, including vitally-needed engineers for UNAMID. This contribution constitutes the first and only major non-African units deployed to Darfur to be accepted by the Government of Sudan.

Though the United States and China may differ at times on the best course of action in Darfur, the Chinese were gracious hosts during the conference. In a display of Chinese hospitality, guests were afforded a visit to the Great Wall and treated to a Farewell Reception in the courtyard of the CIIS building, a beautiful former foreign embassy. The Sudan Programs Group looks forward to continuing its role in building relationships with international partners to address the conflict in Darfur.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/sudan_policy_china/ 2008-07-29T21:48:00-05:00 About the Author: Heather Hwalek works for the Department's Sudan Programs Group.

In the United States, there has been much focus on the Democratic and Republican parties’ National Conventions to be held later this summer, when they will nominate candidates, establish a party platform, and rally their members for upcoming campaigns. Last month, the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) held its own National Convention in preparation for what will hopefully be Sudan’s first free and fair national elections, to take place in 2009. Plans for national elections are an integral part of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which, signed in 2005, ended 21 years of civil war between the SPLM, a Southern-based opposition movement, and the National Congress Party, based in the North, and which currently controls the central government.

The SPLM’s first National Convention was held in 1994, at the height of the civil war, in secret and under threat of aerial bombardment. This second Convention brought together more than 1,500 delegates from every Sudanese state, and many from the diaspora, representing all the different religions and ethnic groups that make up Sudan, together in the auditorium of Juba’s brand new Cultural Center. Members of all the other political parties in Sudan were invited to commemorate the landmark event, and the State Department, along with many other foreign missions, was invited to observe this unique political gathering in Sudan.

Besides taking care of official business, such as democratically electing party leaders for the first time and developing the party’s platform on key issues heading into elections, the Convention attendees also knew how to have fun. Party leaders chanted to rally the crowds, delegates joined in singing and dancing, and even the Secretary General of the SPLM took his turn reading a poem and leading the crowd in song. A marching band in bright red uniforms performed patriotic songs while the audience cheered on. And the event did not go unnoticed by members of the international community – in addition to the many members of the diplomatic corps in attendance, actor Ben Affleck even put in an appearance!

The successful SPLM Convention marked a significant milestone, not only in the transformation of the SPLM into a national political party, but for the democratic transformation of Sudan as a whole, and helps set the stage for what will be a very important and exciting year in Sudan’s history.
]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/sudan_convention/ 2008-06-03T14:45:00-05:00