The Obama administration plans to release its long-awaited Sudan strategy document at 9 a.m. on Monday, apparently with a press conference including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, and Special Envoy for Sudan Scott Gration.
Elements of the strategy were outlined by Special Envoy Gration on Friday at an event at Kean University and in leaks to the press. According to the Washington Post, the policy will call “for a campaign of ‘pressure and incentives’ to cajole the government in Khartoum into pursuing peace in the troubled Darfur region, settling disputes with the autonomous government in southern Sudan and providing the United States greater cooperation in stemming international terrorism.” As more details are provided, we’ll compare the strategy to our checklist for an effective policy.
Beyond details, actual implementation will be crucial, and there will be at least three elements that will be vital: (1) No front loading of incentives, which should only be provided after concrete and lasting progress is made by the Government of Sudan; (2) generating multilateral support for both incentives and pressures; and (3) direct presidential leadership in the process.
Save Darfur will closely monitor implementation, keeping in mind the ultimate objective: a Sudan whose people can live free of fear and whose rights are protected by a government that legitimately represents them.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.
Tags: Darfur, Hillary Clinton, Obama Administration, Scott Gration, Sudan, Sudan Policy Review, Susan Rice
