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The Gap Between Narratives and Practices. Darfur: Responses from the Arab world
10/12/2009 By Isabelle Birambaux
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The crisis in Darfur has generated one of the most extensive responses ever prompted by a civil war in Africa. One of the biggest humanitarian operations in the world and one of the most expensive and biggest peacekeeping operations are in Darfur.
The Darfur conflict is a multidimensional issue with ethnic, tribal, cultural, political and economic aspects. Due to the complexity of the conflict, the responses from the different stakeholders involved have been manifold. The multitude of diplomatic initiatives from different organisations and states revealed a gap between narratives and practices, which this conference aims to highlight.
The Arab world, whether as individual states or through the Arab League, was remarkably passive from the time when the conflict erupted until the ICC issued its arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Arab nations’ reactions to the Darfur conflict have reflected a certain inhibition regarding direct action and a general – perhaps nationalistic – aversion to any kind of political, humanitarian or military intervention that might set a precedent for future international interventions.
On 1–2 October 2009, the Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior (FRIDE) and the Arab Institute for Human Rights (AIHR), with the cooperation of the Norwegian Peacebuilding Center (Noref) and funding from the Ford Foundation, brought together a number of experts and policy makers in Tunis to discuss the role of the Arab world – in terms of perceptions and policies – in the conflict in Darfur. This meeting examined the needs and opportunities for a more positive engagement by the Arab world in resolving this crisis, as well as finding ways to engage Western countries and international organisations with the Arab world in redressing massive violations of human rights in Darfur.
What follows are some of the key points from the debate, which are presented here in accordance with the Chatham House rule on confidentiality.
Download the full version of this publication, available in Arabic (659 kB)
English (188 kB)
Projects
The gap between narratives and practices. Darfur: Responses from the arab worldKeywords
Civil society Humanitarian action SudanRelated publications
- Darfur review I
- Darfur Review II
- Darfur Review III
- Darfur Review IV
- Darfur Review V
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- Darfur Review VII
- Darfur Review VIII
- International justice and the diplomatic struggle over Darfur
- The Difficulties of the International Criminal Justice in Darfur
- The international response to Darfur
- The international response to the Darfur crisis
Bio author: Isabelle Birambaux
Isabelle Birambaux, born in Béthune (France) on 6 July 1970, has a Masters degree in political science and art history from the Technical University of Berlin. During her studies in Berlin, she specialised in international politics, analysing nuclear politics after the end of the Cold War. She currently works as a freelance journalist.
