Dr. Francis Deng: Sudan at the Brink

We had a wonderful weekend discussing matters of concern in Sudan with Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide Dr. Francis Deng, during his visit to Sweden. The man gave us some of his valuable time to meet with the Sudanese Diaspora and discuss with them the issues of unity and secession in Sudan. We feel privileged of his acceptance and contribution. Sudan is at a critical point at this movement and any serous contribution is of a vital importance to save Sudan from turning back to bloodshed. The out come of the referendum can take the country back to war again if the process was not fair and if security was granted to the voter before and after the referendum. How can a future conflict will be avoided in Sudan? What is the status of the southerners in the North and the Northerner in the South after the referendum? How conflicts can be avoided in areas of interaction and interrelations in south Darfur, south Kordufan and the southern parts of the Blue Nile region? What are the prospects of cooperation after secession? Those were some of the questions we asked Dr. Francis to help us save the Sudan in his capacity not only as a special advisor on genocide and mass atrocities but as a Sudanese who knows this country in and out. The man answered us with a book: Sudan at the Brink. A newly published book to be first released in our Forum for Dialogue. The first seminar was internal and held at the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation. The seminar was attended by The Ambassador of Sudan Mr. Moses Akol, The director of the Nordic Africa Institute, Mr. Sten Rylander the Former EU representative in the African Union team negotiating between the Sudanese government and rebels during Abuja talks, Researchers at Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University. Mr. Deng presented key notes from his book and issues of identities as the main reason for conflict in Sudan. The next seminar was open and attended by approximately 600 people at the main hall of the Uppsala Univesity. The seminar was also attended by the Crown Princess Victoria. Mr. Deng talked about catering for the vulnerable people as the most important point of departure for create the basic conditions for peace. The protection of those vulnerable by their own state is important to avoid the international intervention to protect them. Deng knows quite well the importance of protecting the weak and vulnerable people. The man has worked as advisor to the secretary general of the United Nation, Botrus Ghali for issues of internally displaced people. Genocide was even worse than displacement. But the issue is to sensitive and too difficult to handle. Demystifying of genocide was the first practical task for him when he became the advisor to the secretary general on genocide issues. He speaks of a challenge to manage diversity as an important strategy to minimize genocide. For example it is quite important to relate democratic elections in a specific country in relation to the values of democracy in that country. The third seminar was organised for the Sudanese Diaspora in Sweden. The meeting was attended by more than 70 people who came from different parts in Sweden and even from Norway. The meetings was very fruitful and valuable to the clarify stands on unity and secession. It added more value to the ongoing dialogue among the Sudanese in Sweden. It is important to utilize the mandate of Deng as a catalyser to reach a solution on the stand-off between Al-Bashir and the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the whole issue of Darfur. I don’t expect that Deng will free Al-Bashir from the accusations of violations against human rights in Darfur. But Deng approach to understanding the diversity of Sudan would be of an important value to avoid more conflicts in Sudan.