United Nations representative Francis Deng capped off the African Studies Center's Scholar For a Day program Monday with a talk about the challenges of national unity in Africa and specifically the current Sudan crisis.
Deng served in the Sudanese government until 1972 when he felt that he "could not in good conscience continue to serve" due to the outbreak of war.
Following the initial violence, he fled the country, wondering if "I was turning my back on my country and my continent."
Sudan has since been thrown into civil war.
The country, which Deng described as "a nation in search of itself," has made headlines recently due to the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region.
The government in Khartoum, controlled by an Arab Muslim minority, has sponsored widespread destruction of the region in retaliation for threats of secession.
After leaving Sudan, Deng looked for a way to publicize the problems of his country in a way that "would touch people."
He wrote Seed of Redemption, which he described as a "loaded, political novel."
Deng was instrumental in the creation of the Africa Program, an organization encouraging the peaceful management of diverse identities, participation in democracy and respect for human rights.
The African Union, an organization founded on the Africa Program's principles, is currently doing the lion's share of the intervention work in Darfur.
"If they succeed," Deng said, "the credibility will be good. If they fail, we will be back to the feeling that Africans cannot manage their own affairs."
Regarding the international outcry surrounding the crisis in Darfur, Deng feels it is related to "the memory of Rwanda" and the international community's failure to halt genocide there in 1994.
Deng's talk also addressed displaced persons, his area of expertise. He serves as a special U.N. representative on internally displaced persons -- people who have left their homes due to war, violence and other strife but have not crossed international borders.
Remaining in their home country prevents them from receiving refugee status, for which there is a set of recognized legal protections. Deng's job at the United Nations is to come up with a legal framework to assist in the protection and return of IDPs.
Amnesty International member Ruth Garlos, who attended the talk, said, "It was very informative about Sudan's history ... and how global wars and pressures have been the cause of many internal problems in Africa."
According to the United Nations, there are currently over 25 million displaced persons in 50 nations worldwide.
