The Devil Came on Horseback Vocabulary

Vocabulary terms and definitions from the study guide for 'The Devil Came on Horseback', covering key organizations, legal definitions, and groups involved in the Darfur conflict.

African Union (AU)

An international organization founded to promote cooperation among the independent nations of Africa, working toward peace, prosperity, and unity, whose efforts to monitor violence in Darfur have been hampered by limited resources and support.

Committee on Conscience (COC)

A committee established by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to alert conscience, influence policy makers, and stimulate worldwide action to confront and halt acts of genocide or related crimes against humanity.

Ethnic cleansing

The use of force and intimidation to remove, displace, or deport an ethnic group from a territory or nation.

Genocide

Violent crimes committed against national, ethnical, racial, and/or religious group(s) with the intent to destroy the very existence of the group(s).

Internally Displaced Person (IDP)

A person forced to leave their home or traditional region due to conflicts such as war, ethnic cleansing, or genocide, but who continues to live in the same nation or state (often in camps, distinct from refugees).

International Criminal Court (ICC)

An independent, permanent court based on a treaty signed by 41 countries that tries individuals accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

Janjaweed

Groups of "Arab" militias armed, funded, trained, and supported by the Sudanese government that have attacked Darfurian villages and IDP camps to drive out "Africans" and seize land.

Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)

A Darfur opposition or rebel group that opposes the policies and practices of the government of Sudan that they view as discriminatory.

Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)

Non-profit civilian groups whose activities include humanitarian, cultural, educational, religious, and economic work designed to aid people suffering and in desperate need.

Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/M)

The largest opposition force in Darfur opposing the current government of Sudan, characterized as a secularist (not religiously organized) group.

United Nations

A global membership organization established in 1945 to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, and promote respect for human rights without acting as a world government.

Leader of Sudan that began the Genocide

Al Bashir (annotated as Al Basser).