Darfur Consortium Events

The Human Rights Institute of South Africa (HURISA), South Africa

HURISA convened a seminar on September 13 to discuss the responsibility of the international community to protect civilians in Darfur. HURISA brought in speakers from Darfur in order to bring their perspectives on the situation in Darfur.

The line-up included Deirdre Clancy, Co-Director -International Refugee Rights Initiative, Ruth Archibald, Canadian High Commission to South Africa, Brigadier-General John Musonda, Joint Chief of Staff -African Union Mission in the Sudan (AMIS), Osman Hummaida, human rights activist, Janue Alao, social worker - Nyala Trauma Centre, and Amin Mekki Medani, Arab Human Rights Organisation, had his paper read out in his absence.

The forty-strong audience comprised of members from the South African government, UN agencies, non-governmental organisations in South Africa, the diplomatic corps and the media. Some of the concerns raised by members of the audience related to the prospects of a successful peace agreement in light of the developments in southern Sudan; the sub-regional and international interests at play in achieving peace in Darfur and addressing impunity. The extent of the international community’s responsibility to protect, in particular the AU’s role was also debated.

Various media coverage was obtained. The SABC (including SABC Channel Africa service), Al-Jazeera, BBC Africa, Kaya FM, and print media had an opportunity to interview the speakers. Some of the speakers conducted media interviews for radio and television following the seminar, including an interview on Radio Metro FM and the participation in a panel discussion on Darfur on SABC Channel Africa.

In addition, HURISA and some of the speakers from Darfur held a meeting with one of the South African parliamentarians on the parliamentary consultative forum on Darfur on September 14. The meeting was useful in presenting key concerns on the crisis in Darfur to the parliamentarian ahead of the consultative meeting in Dar-es-Salaam on September 21.