Ceasefire in Sudan

RW says the incoming Obama administration must keep a close eye on Sudan: our first priority should be keeping the peace between north and south Sudan on track. So the need to broker a stable situation with real peace is something the international community needs to continue to pay attention to. (What role could the next administration play in helping broker a peace agreement?) We have to continue to lean on the government of Sudan so they feel it’s in their interest to bring about peace, which means things like power sharing and compensation, the return of displaced persons to their home. This means also unilateral and multilateral sanctions as well. We also have to work closely with France, Britain and China, China who so far has been an impediment to progress. (What is it like to work with President Bashir?) Well he’s in a delicate situation right now because the chief prosecutor at the Hague has proposed that an arrest warrant be issued against him for 11 counts of war crimes and genocide, and that’s now being considered at the Hague. But Bashir’s principal objective is just to stay in power. (Does the U.S. endorse the charges from the Hague?) We are not members of the ICC so we’re not going to comment on its procedures. (Since you have such a background in negotiation and have been in Sudan for the past year on behalf of the Bush administration, has the U.S. exhausted all possibility of negotiation in Sudan?) No, I believe we should continue to talk with our friends and others sympathetic to our situation, including Sudan’s neighbors. So there’s a variety of diplomatic options we can pursue and we have to lead on this issue.