Cross posted from PHR’s Health Rights Advocate blog.
Last Thursday marked the end of General Gration’s first 12 months as US Special Envoy to Sudan — an event that closely followed the one year anniversary of the Government of Sudan’s expulsion of humanitarian organizations in March 2009.
In the course of the past 12 months, the humanitarian community and UN Country Team in Sudan have made significant efforts to rebuild programming disrupted by the expulsion of 13 international and 3 Sudanese NGOs — efforts that have been encouraged by the US Envoy’s office. Now one year on, however, the loss of specialized programming continues to challenge NGOs and UN agencies working on the ground.
As Physicians for Human Rights and numerous other organizations pointed out in a public letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last November, multi-sectoral programming addressing the vulnerability and needs of women and girls has been affected seriously by this disruption in programs and services. But broader efforts to re-establish programming lost in the expulsions have been unable to rebuild the base of gender expertise in the humanitarian community prior to 2009.
The range of women-specific concerns spans all areas of humanitarian programming in Darfur: specialized health needs; different levels of education; cultural issues concerning sanitation and hygiene services; and, not least, the widespread incidence of sexual violence across Darfur. There is an urgent need to improve the coverage of relief distribution to target women effectively, expand programming into rural areas, and encourage the mainstreaming of gender concerns by NGOs and UN agencies.
Even prior to the expulsions, the breadth and consistency of women-focused programming had suffered a number of setbacks in 2008, including the closure of many women’s centers, the suspension of psycho-social programming in some instances and increasing obstacles for NGOs to communicate with other agencies. In order to remedy this, we need strong sector coordination and the commitment of sufficient resources to the UN lead agency for Gender-based Violence (UNFPA) to implement the strategic plan designed to address these issues.
In response to this urgent crisis of treatment and services, Physicians for Human Rights has issued a briefing paper to the Special Envoy’s Office: Action Agenda for Realizing Treatment and Support for Women and Girls in Darfur, outlining the conditions of this crisis and immediate actions needed to realize both responsive and proactive programming to reduce the vulnerability of women and girls in Darfur and provide support to survivors. The paper outlines the need for a commitment from the US Government to expend the necessary resources for women and girls in Darfur and to establish a consistent message in the Special Envoy’s diplomatic relations. (more…)
e, I wanted to share one of the paintings we received during the 16 Days. By Lori Khan, an activist in Houston, TX, this work is titled “Listen!” She writes: “I want the viewer to see the painting and to listen, if you will, to the cries of the victim [of rape] and, perhaps most importantly, take action to prevent the further victimization of women. I chose the name ‘Listen!’ because it is a proactive word and the person depicted in the painting is speaking to the viewer, her words painted into the background of the painting.”
f course you know about the most recent developments in Sudan, because you follow the work of organizations such as the Save Darfur Coalition. It is entirely expected that an organization dedicated to the issues in Darfur would be on top of the latest news, especially in regard to violence against Sudanese women. But why is this very important issue so often under the radar of the major media outlets? As an undergraduate journalism student, I was always told by my professors that the whole point of journalism is to “afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.” When the truth is not confronting you from your television, you have a tendency to think that it is no longer an issue. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Having spent my childhood in Nigeria, I remember my grandparent’s sharing their memories of the Nigerian Biafra War that claimed more than a million lives. The reason they told their story was not merely to fill the air with loose talk, but to teach us the role we ought to play in preventing future atrocities. There is no greater calling in life than to help your neighbor at their weakest or most vulnerable moment; and to fight great injustice no matter where it is. Now, with years of conflict and suffering in Darfur, I am once inspired by survivors’ stories – this time I am compelled to take action on behalf of those suffering in Sudan.
