Canada has imposed sanctions on the Sudanese over the year-long civil war

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OTTAWA – Canada can help build a path to peace, the country's former ambassador to Ottawa said Monday, as the federal government belatedly imposed sanctions on those it accuses of fueling Sudan's year-long civil war.

“The unprecedented catastrophe unfolding in Sudan should shock the world,” said its last ambassador to Canada, Tariq Abusalih.

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A year ago, a long-running political conflict between branches of the Sudanese army erupted into armed conflict that prompted Western countries to evacuate their citizens, leading to what the United Nations called the world's largest internal displacement crisis.

A paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces has been accused of trying to repeat the genocide in Darfur, while the army, the Sudanese Armed Forces, has also been accused of wanton violence.

Countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Russia have been accused of providing cash and weapons to the warring parties, and recent reports indicate that foreign long-range drones are being used in the conflict.

The Montreal-based Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights released a report on Monday documenting ethnically-based massacres, sexual assaults and public executions, proving the genocide is already underway.

Canada was concerned about the civil war.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met Abusalih the day the fighting began when the two attended a public event near Toronto.

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Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Jolie traveled to Kenya to meet with regional leaders about ways Africa can help promote peace in Sudan, and Canada has provided humanitarian aid.

It was all part of what Abusalih called a flurry of activity in the early months of the war, as Global Affairs Canada regularly reported on how Ottawa was supporting the Sudanese and helping to end the conflict.

Until this week, there have been few since last summer.

Last week, when International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen announced humanitarian funding, Jolie did not publicize the Sudanese war for months.

On Monday, Jolie announced sanctions against “those who directly or indirectly undermine peace, security and stability in Sudan,” nearly seven months after Washington took such a step.

Those sanctioned include Sudanese paramilitary commander Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, as well as former foreign minister Ali Karti, who led an Islamist group opposed to democratic rule. Ottawa is also imposing sanctions on four companies it accuses of encouraging the two warring factions.

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“This is a small first step by the Canadian government after a year of inaction as civil war erupted in Sudan, thousands have been killed, displaced and now faces a man-made famine,” said NDP foreign affairs critic Heather Macpherson. in a statement on Monday.

Abusalih said Sudan greatly appreciates the $170 million Canada provided last year to Sudanese and those fleeing to neighboring countries.

Canada supplemented that funding with another $132 million, part of a $2.1 billion fund for humanitarian aid pledged at a global conference Mr. Goossen attended in Paris on Monday.

Abusalih said Sudanese are in desperate need of money as they face hunger, lack of medicine and violence in the camps.

“I hope that the Paris conference will not be just an international public relations campaign, because in the past we have had such conferences for Sudan,” he said.

“Nothing has come out of these conferences, and I hope that all countries will quickly fulfill their promises.”

Abusalih resigned from Sudan's foreign service in October, six months before the war, which he said was one of the factors behind his departure.

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Since then, Sudan has had two diplomats in Ottawa with a population of 48 million.

Sudanese respect Canada, Abusalih said, and many remember how the former Canadian International Development Agency helped manage the mechanization of agriculture in the country.

Abusalih said Canada could help create a transition plan for post-conflict Sudan, where an interim panel of non-partisan experts could lead the country and resolve the humanitarian crisis ahead of democratic elections.

No matter what happens, none of the dueling factions will be able to take control of the country, he said.

“We need more efforts from the international community to end the ongoing war in Sudan,” he said.

“After this war ends, we need the United Nations and our friends to call for an international conference to rebuild Sudan.”

Meanwhile, Canada has been unable to reunite a family with relatives trying to escape the conflict.

Last December, Ottawa announced a program to allow people fleeing Sudan to join relatives in Canada who have access to financial support.

Canadians with relatives in Sudan say the program is too burdensome and expensive, and the government says it doesn't expect to welcome anyone nearly a year after the announcement last December.

Abusalih said he hopes Canada can speed up the program and force other countries to stop fighting both factions.

“There is no winner in this war, the Sudanese people are the losers in the end,” he said.

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