VZCZCXRO9318
OO RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #1150 2870524
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 140524Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4551
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001150 
 
NSC FOR MGAVIN, LETIM 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL PINR KDEM SOCI SU
SUBJECT: SOUTH DARFUR HUMAN RIGHTS UPDATE 
 
REF: A) KHARTOUM 425 B) KHARTOUM 194 C) 08 KHARTOUM 1302 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Human rights violations as a whole have declined 
in South Darfur due to a reduction in tribal violence, human rights 
officers at the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur 
(UNAMID) told poloff on October 7. They expressed alarm, however, at 
the increase in politically-motivated arrests and detentions, most 
notably of Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) members 
believed to be related to upcoming national elections in 2010. They 
also reported increasing harassment of internally displaced persons 
(IDPs) at Government of Sudan (GOS) military checkpoints.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On October 7, poloff met with Marcel Akpovo, head of the 
Human Rights Office at UNAMID Sector South in Nyala, South Darfur. 
Akpovo reported that clashes among South Darfur's heavily-armed 
nomadic tribes had subsided since the beginning of the year. "When 
things are calm, the likelihood of grave human rights abuses 
decreases," he said. "That's the situation we're in right now." 
Akpovo credited the reduction in tribal clashes to 
government-brokered reconciliation agreements and land demarcation, 
but whether such efforts were sustainable remains to be seen, he 
said. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Akpovo also credited an improving human rights situation in 
Muhajeriya to the Government of Sudan (GOS)'s re-taking control of 
the town following the departure of Sudan Liberation Army/Minni 
Minnawi (SLA/MM) former rebels from the area (ref B). The center of 
clashes between SLA/MM and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) 
in January 2009, Muhajeriya is "getting better by the day," said 
Akpovo, noting that the local administration is working hard to 
establish a rule of law and law enforcement mechanisms. 
 
---------------------------------- 
UPTICK IN OPPOSITION ARRESTS NOTED 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) While the situation in South Darfur remains calm overall, 
Akpovo expressed concern about the uptick in politically-motivated 
arrests and detentions. Such arrests were common following the March 
4, 2009 issuance of the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest 
warrant against President Omar Al Bashir, but until recently had 
largely ceased, he said. Now, UNAMID Human Rights has documented a 
number of individual cases of opposition party members, most notably 
those belonging to the SPLM, being arrested and detained for 
political activities in advance of the 2010 elections. "We fear such 
arrests will become more widespread when the campaign starts in 
earnest," said Akpovo. 
 
-------------------------------- 
REPORTS OF IDP HARASSMENT RISING 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Akpovo also noted increased reports of harassment of IDPs 
at GOS road checkpoints, particularly those leading to Kalma IDP 
camp. Numerous IDPs have reported being harassed and having 
foodstuffs and other personal property confiscated by GOS soldiers 
at the entrance to Kalma, he said, though there have been no reports 
of detentions at the checkpoints. IDP leaders continue to claim an 
increase in rapes of female IDPs, but there is no evidence to back 
this up, said Akpovo. "Rapes are still occurring, but there is a lot 
of misinformation" being propagated by highly- politicized IDP 
leaders, he said. 
 
¶6. (SBU) COMMENT: The easing of tribal tensions in South Darfur can 
just as easily be attributed to a lack of GOS instigation as it can 
to positive intervention; the GOS is notorious for exploiting ethnic 
tensions and competition for scarce natural resources to its own 
advantage through "divide and rule tactics." GOS administration of 
Muhajeriyah, nonetheless, seems to be an improvement from the 
thuggery of SLA/MM. The rise in politically-motivated arrests, 
meanwhile, is worrying.  It could be an indication that in advance 
of the April 2010 elections, the National Congress Party (NCP) has 
already begun to harass the opposition. 
 
WHITEHEAD