Complex situation offers no easy solutions
TORONTO, October 6, 2004 -- With no end in sight to the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan -- which has resulted in more than a million refuges fleeing ethnic cleansing carried out by local militias -- western nations, including Canada, are considering stepping up sanctions against the Sudanese government.
York University has several faculty members and researchers available to comment on the region’s troubles and the debate over how to prevent another “Rwanda”. Additionally, York experts can provide insights into the root causes of civil unrest in the region that date back to the 1950s.
Pablo Idahosa, professor of social science and coordinator of the Africa Studies program at York, lived in Africa for 20 years and understands the background to conflicts throughout the continent. He says that it is not simply a matter of ‘Arab versus African’ or ‘oil’,” but rather there are many militias and many countries who have vested interests in the future of the country, including China, Pakistan, Algeria and Russia, all of whom are members of the UN security council – 416-736-2100 ext. 66939 or 416-658-7265 pidahosa@yorku.ca.
Howard Adelman, a researcher at York's Centre for Refugee Studies and professor emeritus of philosophy, is co-author of the International Report on Early Warning and Conflict Management: The Genocide in Rwanda. An expert on refugee issues, theories of state, the obligations of states and a theory of justice applied to refugee issues, political theory and political thought. He can provide a historical background on the current conflict in Darfur. He is a visiting professor at Princeton University – 609-258-5562 / hadelman@yorku.ca
Peter Penz, former director of York’s Centre for Refugee Studies, can discuss the current humanitarian crisis in Darfur and difficulties in concluding a negotiated peace settlement in the country’s southern region – 416-736-2100 x22103 / ppenz@yorku.ca
Ibrahim Badr, professor in the Department of French Studies at York and formerly with the University of Khartoum in Sudan can comment on how the conflict in Darfur is not isolated from those in other African regions – 736-2100 x77067 / ibadr@yorku.ca
Gamal Adam, PhD candidate in the Graduate Program in Social Anthropology, who has recently returned from doing field work in Africa, can discuss cultural and ethnic / racialized distribution of the Sudanese population from 1917 to the present – gamadam@yorku.ca
Jane Kani Edward, post-doctoral fellow and a native of southern Sudan who has studied women fleeing the conflict in that region, can comment on various scholars writing on Sudan, and how the conflict is represented in the western media – contact Media Relations 416-736-2100, x22086 or 22091
Obiora Okafor, a professor at York’s Osgoode Hall Law School and a member of the Centre for Refugee Studies, recently received a Fulbright Award for his proposal to study the effects on refugee case law of the September 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. He can discuss international law as it applies to refugees and human rights as well as issues of statehood and self-determination and legitimate governance in Africa – 617-253-0123 / ookafor@osgoode.yorku.ca / ookafor@mit.edu
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For further information, please contact:
Ken Turriff, Media Relations, York University, 416-736-2100 x22086 / kturriff@yorku.ca
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