Gender Report Card on the International Criminal ... - YWCA Canada

OTP Situations and Cases
Security Council delegation faced threats by
the Sudanese Government and had to go into
hiding as a consequence of speaking out about
conditions in the IDP camps.
In March 2011, in a message to international
humanitarian bodies, women in IDP camps
in North Darfur called on the UN and the
international community as a whole, including
humanitarian organisations, for recognition
of the ongoing conflict and for humanitarian
assistance. 696 The message named 34 villages
that had been besieged and destroyed as part of
the new government strategy in Sudan. It also
called attention to the arrest and detention of
activists by security forces, rape, killing, torture,
looting and destruction of property committed
by the Government, all of which ‘took place
before the eyes of the United Nations Mission in
Darfur (UNAMID)’. The message called, among
other things, on the UN to protect IDPs, for a
Security Council resolution to place Darfur under
international protection and put an end to the
violence, and for the Sudanese Government to
be denied access to IDP camps.
Signing of Doha Peace Document
On 14 July 2011, the Sudanese Government
and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM)
signed a peace document in Doha. 697 During the
preceding negotiations, the Women’s Initiatives
conducted a fact-finding mission in Doha, the
capital of Qatar, from 28 May to 2 June 2011.
The mission’s aim was to gather information
regarding the negotiations taking place and
to meet with key stakeholders to discuss the
participation of women in the talks. During
the fact-finding mission, information was
collected about the position of women at the
696 This message was sent to the Women’s Initiatives for
distribution, and is available at .
697 ‘Sudan and LJM rebels sign a Darfur peace agreement in
Doha’, Sudan Tribune, 14 July 2011, available at , last visited on 26 October 2011.
negotiating table and about the challenges for
the implementation of UNSC Resolutions 1325
and 1820. Qatar was chosen as the location for
the Darfur peace negotiations in a resolution
adopted by the Arab League on 9 September
2008. This resolution was welcomed by the AU,
the UN and the EU.
From 27 to 31 May 2011, the Darfur
Stakeholders’ Conference took place in Doha.
It was attended by over 500 representatives
from different states of Darfur and the
diasporas (including civil society organisations,
tribal leaders, native administration leaders,
IDPs, refugees, parliament members, state
parliament members, governors [walis] of the
three states, and main political party leaders),
who endorsed the Doha draft document as
the basis for reaching a permanent ceasefire, a
comprehensive and inclusive peace settlement,
and sustainable peace and stability in Darfur. 698
However, key Darfur movement organisations
have told the Women’s Initiatives that they
did not consider the communiqué that came
out of the Conference to be binding for them.
They argued that 75% of the participants of
the Conference were affiliates of the National
Congress Party, which forms the Government of
Sudan. On the other hand, key Darfur movement
organisations did not deny that the Conference
has achieved several of its objectives, and
that some of its outcomes may be taken into
consideration in their negotiations. In addition,
many IDPs told the Women’s Initiatives that
those who participated in the Conference were
not representing them, and had been selected
by the government to support their own agenda
during the Conference. They also questioned
how the stakeholders could understand and
endorse documents that had been the result
698 ‘Darfur conference endorses Doha draft document’,
Gulf Times, 1 June 2011, available at , last visited on 26 October 2011.
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