Analysts are calling for a beefed up international response in the effort to end civil wars in the neighboring countries of Sudan and South Sudan. Critics accuse the government in Khartoum of using violence to suppress grievances in the region of Darfur and in the states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. And in South Sudan, government troops are fighting with rebel factions of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement.
US policy toward the two countries was the topic of discussion at a recent hearing of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Human Rights, and International Organizations.
said the crises in the two countries call for a more robust US approach to peace, democracy and accountability.
Prendergast said the US should expand from one to two envoys to the region – part of a strategy some analysts call a “diplomatic surge.” They say in the lead-up to South Sudan’s referendum on independence two years ago, three envoys were deployed: General Scott Gration, Princeton Lyman and then-senator John Kerry.
Currently, the US Department of State has one envoy to serve both Sudan and South Sudan, Ambassador Donald Booth.
"One special envoy," said Prenderagast, "no matter how capable Ambassador Don Booth is, pales in comparison to the current diplomatic requirements. The wars in both countries are so complicated they require their own envoys, and the interplay between the two conflicts and the broader region demands a deeper political team upon which the two envoys can rely."
Prendergast said the team would include currently serving senior foreign service officers, retired ambassadors and other regional experts.
He also said US policymakers should develop a unified approach to conflicts in the Sudanese regions of Darfur, the Nuba mountains, the contested territory of Abyei and the eastern states of Blue Nile and North Kordofan. So far, he says, Khartoum has used a successful “divide and conquer” strategy in subduing these areas and in dividing diplomatic efforts to bring peace.
Others want an even more personalized approach to US policy in the region – one they compare to diplomatic “shock treatment”:
"I would strongly recommend that President Obama address in public the issue of Sudan," said
"The reason is simple: people in southern Sudan, [including] those commanders on the ground, need to have a very important personality that would address them from Washington, [who] would ask them for a ceasefire. In a civil war, they are not going to listen to diplomats; they are going to listen to the highest personality, especially Mr. Obama. He is well seen in Africa, well seen in Sudan."
Phares suggested the administration bring into the effort former president George W. Bush, who met personally with South Sudanese leader and current president Salva Kiir during his administration.
Phares also offered suggestions for dealing with the Republic of Sudan and President Omar al-Bashir, whose administration is at war with several ethnic groups.
"We need to invite to Washington representatives of the Beja, Nubians, Darfuris, and of other areas in Sudan to come to US…so that the American public can understand their claims and their difficulties," he said. "I would recommend a Congressional hearing where representatives from Sudanese NGOs are sitting at this table. The president [Mr. Obama] should call on Mr. Bashir and tell him he is under ICC indictment and is responsible for the security and the rights of these four African communities in Sudan. "
Special Envoy Ambassador Donald Booth said the Obama administration has reached out to former high-ranking officials, and will continue to do so.
"Some of them did intervene, " he said, "and made calls out to the government of South Sudan to try to put an end to the conflict [including] former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who tried to engage President Kier, and former president Carter did as well.
We’ve had many calls to Salva Kiir and to Riek Machar by senior administration officials, and we are calibrating when we need to use which official to move a particular issue at a particular time.
"So, that’s something that is certainly on the table…and will be used when we consider what would be the best way forward at that time to move us off of a sticking point or break any logjam. "
Prendergast also said the US should increase support to groups that promote democracy, including NGOs, youth and women’s associations, and political parties, such as the coalition of opposition parties in Sudan, the Sudan Revolutionary Front.