March 5, 2009 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The Sudanese government yesterday revoked the licenses of at least eight international charities, following the International Criminal Court’s announcement that it would issue a warrant for the arrest of Sudan’s president on charges of war crimes, according to InterAction, an umbrella group of international charities.
Mercy Corps said on its Web site that it was among those groups whose license was revoked. The aid group said it would immediately halt its programs in Darfur and Khartoum.
The Sudanese government did not provide a reason for its decision, according to the charity.
CARE reported that it received a letter yesterday from the Sudanese government canceling its permit to operate in the country.
Other groups reportedly affected: International Rescue Committee, Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders’ Holland operations, and Save the Children UK. (Save the Children’s U.S. organization has so far been unaffected, according to a spokesman).
Michael Kleinman, a blogger at Change.org, looks at how many people could be affected by the government’s decision.
CARE alone provides aid to 1.5 million people in Sudan, while International Rescue Committee, another group that’s been ousted, helps 1.75 million people.
The Enough Project, an advocacy group in Washington that fights genocide, writes in a blog post that, “while we aren’t sure if this move by Bashir [Sudan’s president] is just reactionary posturing or a step toward escalating, it does present yet another opportunity for President Obama and the United Nations to demonstrate that this kind of action is intolerable.”
Mr. Kleinman writes that he’s disappointed in the post. He says: “That faith in the U.S. and U.N. to fix the situation also seems a wee bit misplaced. How, exactly, are they supposed to demonstrate ‘that this kind of action is intolerable?’ I mean, beyond issuing more empty statements.”
While he says he respects the Enough Project, he doesn’t believe that the expulsion of aid agencies from Sudan should be viewed as “just another opportunity for international advocacy to work it’s magic.”
Mr. Kleinman also asks for specifics on what steps could be taken to protect aid operations and civilians in Sudan that receive their assistance.
