A critique of MSF-France operations in Darfur (Sudan). October 2003 - October 2004
Corinne Danet, Sophie Delaunay, Evelyne Depoortere & Fabrice Weissman
A political scientist by training, Fabrice Weissman joined Médecins sans Frontières in 1995. First as a logistician, then as project coordinator and head of mission, he has worked in many countries in conflict (Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kosovo, Sri Lanka, etc.) and more recently in Malawi in response to natural disasters. He is the author of several articles and collective works on humanitarian action, including "In the Shadow of Just Wars. Violence, Politics and Humanitarian Action" (ed., London, Hurst & Co., 2004), "Humanitarian Negotiations Revealed. The MSF Experience" (ed., Oxford University Press, 2011) and "Saving Lives and Staying Alive. Humanitarian Security in the Age of Risk Management" (ed., London, Hurst & Co, 2016). He is also one of the main hosts of the podcast La zone critique.
In September 2004, the Board of MSF-France decided to undertake a critique of the section’s operations in Darfur in 2003 and 2004. According to the terms of reference set by MSF-F president Jean-Hervé Bradol (see appendices), the aim was less to ‘evaluate’ our intervention than to subject it to a critical examination which would enable us to “identify our weaknesses and the ways in which they can be corrected.”
The critique was coordinated by Sophie Delaunay and Fabrice Weissman under the supervision of Marie-Pierre Allié and Virginie Raisson for the Board.3 Its focus was confined to the operations conducted in Darfur (therefore excluding aid to Sudanese refugees in Chad) in the twelve-month period between October 2003 (when the first exploratory missions were launched) and October 2004
Methodology
How did we proceed? The initial difficulty involved the translation of the three major problematics (relevance, efficacy, efficiency) into concrete issues. The task was complicated by the fact that the Darfur intervention had not presented any major malfunctions that could have formed the start of our investigations. There was no resounding ‘failure’ to indicate immediately which aspects of the mission had raised issues concerning its relevance, effectiveness or efficiency; or to what extent we should search for examples of a possible malpractice. We had our grand problematics, but were still somewhat unsure of how to proceed, given the sheer scale of the operation and the fact that it was generally regarded as a success. We therefore sought to trace the mission’s progress by examining the evolution of the crisis, the activities carried out by MSF (operations and communications), and their impact (in terms of health and policies), while defining the constraints and the range of options available to the teams at each stage.
The team therefore focused on the following evaluation points:
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Interpretation of the intervention context and selection of humanitarian objectives within that context;
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Activities implemented and results achieved;
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Adequacy of resources and organizational structure.
Voitek Asztabski
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To cite this content :
Corinne Danet, Sophie Delaunay, Evelyne Depoortere, Fabrice Weissman, A critique of MSF-France operations in Darfur (Sudan). October 2003 - October 2004, 1 janvier 2007, URL : https://msf-crash.org/en/humanitarian-actors-and-practices/critique-msf-france-operations-darfur-sudan-october-2003-october
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