current global warming trend leading to armed conflict

Since the beginning of armed violence in Darfur, the region has been labelled the “first climate change conflict” by many observers, given the convergence of environmental and political factors leading to the conflict. When analysing the root causes of the conflict in Darfur and building strategies for addressing displacement, international and regional actors often forget that the origins of the conflict are multiple and complicated, ethnoreligious and environmental. The instability in the region continues to cause large-scale displacement, with more than 200 000 people displaced in Darfur since the beginning of 2021. In 2021, despite the signed Juba Peace Agreement, the security situation in Darfur remained volatile, with significant inter-communal violence and fighting between government forces and rebels in the Jebel Marra area. Įighteen years after the eruption of the conflict in Darfur, these conclusions regarding the main causes and triggers of the conflict remain valid. They also argue that the three core drivers of violence in Darfur at present are disputes over land and resources, the complex network of militias and paramilitary forces, and the weakness of the rule of law and security institutions. Most observers agree that the immediate cause was a regional rebellion, to which Khartoum responded by recruiting Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed, to wage a campaign of ethnic cleansing against African civilians. The early-2000s conflict in Darfur between rebel groups on one side and government forces and allied militias on the other caused an estimated 300 000 deaths, and about 2.5 million people live in displacement camps across Darfur. ĭarfur captured international headlines in 2004 when United States (US) Secretary of State Colin Powell declared that genocide was occurring in Sudan in his testimony to the US Senate. In turn, deadly conflict and political instability are contributing to climate change.

The relationship between climate change and deadly conflict is complex and context-specific, but it is undeniable that climate change is a threat multiplier that is already increasing food insecurity, water scarcity and resource competition, while disrupting livelihoods and spurring migration. Any peace in Darfur must be built on solutions that go to the root causes of the conflict Ban Ki-moon (former United Nations Secretary-General) Background to the Conflict in Darfur

Current global warming trend leading to armed conflict