U.S. Support for the People of Sudan

Previous Version: July 2007

U.S. SUPPORT FOR DARFUR PEACEKEEPING AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

OVERALL POLICY

The United States is committed to ending the violence in Darfur through a political settlement, providing humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations and enabling the rapid deployment of a robust United Nations (UN) – African Union (AU) hybrid peacekeeping force.

The United States supports a peaceful, unified and democratic Sudan within the framework of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended 21 years of civil war between the North and the South in January 2005.

We want quick implementation of all elements of the CPA, which, among other things, mandates elections across Sudan in 2009. The United States has imposed economic sanctions on Sudanese individuals and companies owned or controlled by the Government of Sudan to increase pressure on Khartoum to end the violence in Darfur.

POLITICAL PROCESS IN DARFUR

The United States supports the UN-AU lead in peace negotiations between the Government of Sudan and Darfur rebel groups. The United States calls on all parties to participate in peace talks, cease fighting and arrive at a lasting political settlement for Darfur.

ASSISTANCE

The United States, the largest contributor of aid to Sudan, has given over $4 billion in humanitarian, peacekeeping, reconstruction and development aid to the people of Sudan since 2005. The United States provides both extensive emergency relief to people affected by conflict, as well as longer-term development assistance to support the Sudanese in their transition to stability and security.

The USAID development program, which works to consolidate peace through improved health, education, infrastructure, and governance, is the largest such program in Africa. USAID provided more than 67 percent of confirmed food contributions to the World Food Program for 2007, amounting to more than $339 million. Much of the food aid goes to Darfur where 2.5 million people live in camps for Internally Displaced Persons. Since 2004, the United States has spent more than $400 million to build, operate and maintain 34 base camps for peacekeepers under the Africa Union Mission to Sudan (AMIS). The United States has also trained AMIS peacekeepers, and provided vehicles and communications equipment. In Southern Sudan, the United States is assisting with the country’s reconstruction by building roads and infrastructure and providing health, education and other assistance to enhance civil society.

PEACEKEEPING

The United States supports AMIS as it transitions to the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), a larger force set to number more than 26,000. The United States will pay approximately a quarter of the costs of UNAMID through assessed contributions to the UN for peacekeeping operations.