"The struggle [in Sudan] is against injustice and it is about providing justice for all irrespective of creed, color, belief, and race. It is therefore not about the unity of the country. Because in a country where justice prevails, there will be no incentive or reason for separation or fragmentation. It is injustice that breaks up families, tribes and countries.

"It is time that the international opinion and the people of good will and above all the ecumenical family, should see to it that this suffering comes to an end. It must end in peace with justice. Our suffering people should therefore be allowed to freely determine their political status and pursue their economic, social, and cultural development. We believe that nobody is wise or knowledgeable enough to make choices for them. The elite on previous occasions had concluded Agreements on their behalf. Systems have been imposed on them but they have not lasted. Attempts are being made to prescribe certain choices for them and we believe that such prescriptions are not the correct recipes for a just and lasting peace. It is therefore time that [those engaged in negotiations] press for the oppressed people to freely choose their destiny and for the political forces in the Sudan and the international community to abide by the outcome of such a choice what ever it might be."

From "Let My People Choose"
The Statement of the Sudanese Churches on the Right of Self Determination for Southern Sudan, Signed by Rev. Peter Makuac Nyak, Associate Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of the Sudan, and others, on 6th March 2002

In Machakos, Kenya, in late July the Sudanese government and the SPLA - the major rebel movement in the southern Sudan - agreed upon a framework for peace that left the international community hopeful, cautious and skeptical for an end to the tragic civil war in Sudan that is now in its 20th continuous year.

The July agreement addressed two important elements in the peace process that have previously seemed insurmountable. One was the right to self-determination; the other was freedom of religion.

Self-determination has been a key issue from the outset, and the "Declaration of Principles" - agreed to by all parties to the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) peace process in 1997 - affirmed a referendum for the South, whereby southerners could choose their future, perhaps in a unified state, a federation, or secession itself. The Machakos agreement accepts an "internationally monitored referendum" at the end of a six-year interim period. While the agreement also affirms "the unity of Sudan" - a seeming contradiction - it clearly states that secession would be one option in the referendum. The Sudanese, therefore, have accepted what former Sen. John Danforth - President Bush's Special Envoy to Sudan - would not. His report, released in May, virtually ruled out the possibility of secession.

Freedom of religion has been contentious, not merely because of the historic (northern) mainly Muslim and (southern) mainly Christian and traditional practitioners division, but because of the introduction of shari'a law in Sudan. The Machakos agreement speaks of "religious freedom," and there is talk of retaining shari'a in the north but not applying it in the south.

This is encouraging. But as John Prendergast of the International Crisis Group wisely reminds us, this is "just a framework. It's not a peace agreement." While the Machakos agreement shows a willingness to compromise on key obstacles to peace, at this stage parties have not entered into any obligations other than to continue to negotiate with this agreement as a guide. Negotiations resume in August, and it is widely agreed that a peace agreement, rather than an agreement over a conceptual framework, will be quite difficult. Peace is not yet at hand.

Still, much has happened since Bush appointed Sen. Danforth last year. His approach had been to set four "confidence-building measures," with the view that if they could be achieved, all parties might be more "confident" in addressing the war itself. These measures included (1) a cease-fire in the Nuba Mountains region to facilitate relief assistance; (2) the creation of "days of tranquility" to administer immunization and other humanitarian programs; (3) an end to aerial bombardment of civilian targets; and (4) an investigation into abductions and forced labor in Sudan.

While progress was made, the Danforth report was disappointing, not only about self-determination but also about oil. Three years ago oil production began in earnest in Sudan. Reportedly, the oilfields earn the government of Sudan a billion dollars a day, and there is a clear correlation between oil revenue increases and military expenditure. Moreover, Khartoum's efforts to protect the oil fields have included "scorched earth" tactics: forced displacement of people from their ancestral land in the oil concession areas (located in the South, but controlled by Khartoum).

In his report Sen. Danforth rightly observed that "no enduring settlement to Sudan's war can be achieved unless the oil dimension is effectively addressed.... Any peace process should address the oil issue in order to resolve a major cause of conflict and to serve as the basis for a just peace." But then he suggested that a "fair allocation" of oil resources could be a way forward.

Oil cannot be part of the solution until it ceases to be part of the problem. Our Sudanese partners, especially in the churches, have consistently called for an end of oil operations until there is a just peace. Sharing oil wealth was not addressed in the Machakos agreement, and widespread international comment underscores the importance of continued pressure upon the government in Khartoum. A halt to oil operations creates much-needed pressure.

The House version of the Sudan Peace Act, passed in June 2001, contains an amendment calling for capital market sanctions against foreign oil companies doing business in Sudan. This would prohibit companies like Talisman Energy in Canada or the Malaysian company Petronas from using U.S. capital markets (like the New York Stock Exchange) to raise money (by selling stocks, shares or bonds). The Senate version, passed in July 2001, does not contain this amendment on capital market sanctions. The Bush Administration made clear, in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in July, that it continues to oppose such sanctions, largely on the grounds that it would "politicize the stock exchange." It might also move us more quickly toward peace.

Other issues underscore how far we still have to go. The Danforth initiatives led to an "eminent persons group" that reported on slavery, concluding that slavery did exist in Sudan - which U.S. advocates never doubted, but which the Khartoum government continued to deny - but that they could not ascertain its extent.

Concern continues, as well, about obstacles the Khartoum government has placed in the way of humanitarian relief. The latest restrictions have tragic implications for people in need. The BBC reports that World Food Programme has recently estimated that 350,000 people who normally benefit from their food aid are now going hungry.

The U.S. also continues to monitor the Sudan's involvement in terrorism: In May the State Department concluded that Sudan had not made sufficient progress to be removed from the U.S.'s list of terrorist-sponsoring nations, and thus from economic sanctions.

"To date," the Sudanese church leaders stated, "over 2.9 million people… have lost their lives; over 4 million displaced; thousands of people maimed and wounded; millions widowed and orphaned…. Enough is enough." We agree.

Suggested Action

At the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings, Rep. Tom Lantos declared that "Khartoum is playing the game of peace while conducting a vicious war of annihilation…. As long as the oil revenues flow to Khartoum, there is little to ouch the government of Sudan." His views were echoed by Republican Rep. Chris Smith: "I'm a free-market guy to a large extent, but when it comes to a country that has killed two million people, [how can free markets take precedence]?"

Capital market sanctions on Sudanese oil remain a critical avenue for effective pressure… now, despite the "framework" agreement, as much as ever. It can be removed when true and just peace agreements have been reached. But it needs to be applied.

Contact President Bush, urging his administration to halt oil production in Sudan by supporting capital market sanctions. With administration backing, the deadlock on the Sudan Peace Act could come to an end. And, contact your Senators, urging them to call upon Senate leadership asking that conferees be named on the Sudan Peace Act so that the discussion of capital market sanctions can move forward.

General Assembly

• Whereas, the situation of human suffering in Sudan continues to grow because of civil war and the resulting famine, and now exceeds that of Somalia; and
• Whereas, more than one million persons have lost their lives to starvation, disease, and war since 1980; and
• Whereas, more than five million southern Sudanese have been forced off their land--displaced by the war to northern Sudan, government-controlled cities in the south, and other countries; and…
• Whereas, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has maintained its commitment to the two Presbyterian churches in Sudan (that is, the Presbyterian Church of Sudan and the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church) for almost a century; and…
• Whereas, the Christians of Sudan have urgently entreated our church to actively use every means available to advocate on their behalf before the U.S. government, the United Nations, other international bodies, and the news media;

Therefore, the 205th General Assembly (1993):
Calls on its members, congregations, middle governing bodies, and the Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to respond to the appeal of Sudanese Christians by communicating to elected representatives. (Minutes, 1993, Part I, p. 938)

Oil from Sudan:
Oil revenues generated by Talisman Oil in Sudan are providing resources, both financial and physical, for the Sudan government to continue its war against the southern Sudanese…. The New Sudan Council of Churches, a PCUSA partner in Sudan, is calling for all external oil companies to leave Sudan.

The 212th General Assembly (2000) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.):
Calls on Talisman Oil Company of Canada to withdraw from Sudan and cease further oil exploration and production in Sudan until a lasting, negotiated peace has been achieved. (Minutes, 2000, Part I, p. 491)