All are invited to NIHAC's event on Health Crisis in Sudan, past and present, at
7PM at I-132. Also, please join us at 6:15 for an informal potluck reception
and meet the speakers and NIHAC steering committee members.

Amineh Ayyad,
NIHAC steering committee member
206.313.1608


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 17:49:31 -0800
From: Human Rights Watch <hrw-news@...>

Sudan: Peace Deal Must Tackle Past Abuses
U.N. Must Insist on Truth Commission, Prosecution to Prevent More
Atrocities

(Nairobi, November 18, 2004)  The impunity enjoyed by the Sudanese
authorities in their ongoing atrocities in Darfur demonstrates why the near-
final peace deal to end the countrys North-South conflict must include
accountability for human rights abuses, Human Rights Watch said today.

On November 18-19, the United Nations Security Council will hold an
extraordinary session in Nairobi to push the North-South peace
negotiations to a conclusion. The draft peace deal to end the 21-year
conflict is known as the Naivasha protocols, named after the Kenyan town
where the Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan Peoples Liberation
Movement/Army (SPLM/A) have negotiated a series of protocols since
June 2002.

Unless they are held accountable for abuses in the South, the Sudanese
authorities will continue to believe they can get away with murder in
Darfur, said Jemera Rone, Sudan researcher for Human Rights Watch.
Theres still time for U.N. Security Council members meeting in Nairobi
to insist that the final peace agreement includes accountability for past
abuses and protections against future ones.

In a new briefing paper addressing the human rights shortcomings in the
Naivasha protocols, Human Rights Watch called for prosecutions of those
implicated in grave violations of human rights and international
humanitarian law in Sudan. In addition, it called for a Truth and
Reconciliation Commission to ensure full disclosure of human rights
abuses in the armed conflicts that have ravaged Sudan since 1983.

Human Rights Watch said that the international mediatorsled by the
United States, Britain and Norwayhave a solemn responsibility to insist
that both the government and the rebels be held accountable for past
abuses, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.

A North-South peace deal is vital for the people of Sudan, who have
suffered a war that has killed two million people, Rone said. But we
have learned the hard way that ignoring grave abuses such as those we
saw in the South will not bring Sudan lasting peace.

The briefing paper: Sudan: Human Rights Accountability Must Be Part
of North-South Peace Agreement is available online at:

http://hrw-news.c.topica.com/maacR58abbM9va4snxeb/

The full report: If We Return, We Will Be Killed Consolidation of
Ethnic Cleansing in Darfur, Sudan is available online at:

http://hrw-news.c.topica.com/maacR58abbM9wa4snxeb/
-----------
Please help support the research that made this bulletin possible. In order
to protect our objectivity, Human Rights Watch does not accept funding from
any government. We depend entirely on the generosity of people like you.
To make a contribution, please visit
http://hrw-news.c.topica.com/maacR58abbM9xa4snxeb/

====================================================================
Update Your Profile:
http://hrw-news.f.topica.com/f/?aVximT.a4snxe.YW1pbmFA
Unsubscribe:
http://hrw-news.f.topica.com/f/?aVximT.a4snxe.YW1pbmFA.u
Confirm Your Subscription:
http://hrw-news.f.topica.com/f/?aVximT.a4snxe.YW1pbmFA.c