April is Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month. Last year, we commemorated the month through a series of posts remembering the devastation and lives lost to genocide and mass atrocities in the past. This year, we will commemorate Genocide Prevention and Awareness Month by highlighting current conflicts where the ongoing atrocities urgently demand an effective U.S. government response.
The Background
In 2005, following two decades of conflict between north and south Sudan, the U.S. government supported the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). This agreement then led to the 2011 referendum on self-determination, through which the southern portion of the country voted to become an independent country now called South Sudan.
However, soon after independence, the SPLM divided, and in 2013, civil war broke out across the country, displacing 413,000 civilians in the first month. While there have been several peace agreements, including in August 2015, each of them has been violated and the country remains in conflict. According to the U.N. humanitarian coordinator, Stephen O’Brian, South Sudan is the largest humanitarian crisis since 1945.
The United States bears a special responsibility for the events transpiring in South Sudan. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which led to the 2011 referendum on self-determination, was a direct result of U.S. involvement in the negotiations. Yet after the country voted to become independent, a lack of U.S. diplomatic involvement, combined with little reconciliation and conflict mitigation assistance, has led to dramatic and devastating consequences.
The Implications
Between 50,000 and 100,000 people have died.^1
More than 1.8 million people are internally displaced.^2
An estimated 42% of the population is considered severely food insecure, and several counties are considered to be experiencing famine.^3
The violence against civilians is widespread and includes sexual violence, extra-judicial killings, and arbitrary arrests and detentions^4.
Take Action
The budget put forth by the White House makes massive, disproportionate cuts to the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development, despite the overwhelming number of crises occurring around the world that demand U.S. Government attention and resources.
These cuts would dramatically undermine the U.S. Government’s ability to respond to current crises, as well as decimate our ability to prevent future conflicts. This short-sighted decision – coupled with dramatic increases in military spending – serves to further entrench cycles of violence that are costly, threaten national security interests, and endanger human lives.
