UN Told to Swiftly Implement Darfur Plan
"It remains to be seen whether rigorous action will now be taken to ensure deployment," said Nii Akuetteh, executive director of Africa Action, a Washington, DC-based organization that has been calling for swift U.S. and UN action in Darfur for the past three years. On Tuesday, the UN Security Council passed a unanimous resolution authorizing the deployment of 26,000 troops, which will bolster the current African Union (AU) peacekeeping force of 7,000. The move comes more than a month after Sudan agreed to this deployment and nearly nine months after a hybrid force was first proposed by the international community. The UN expects the first troops to arrive in October and full strength to be achieved by the end of the year. Though pleased with the Security Council's decision, like Africa Action, many other international civil society groups remain concerned about the fact that the proposed hybrid force is likely to take months to get on the ground. "During this time, security problems are likely to continue -- affecting the ability of aid agencies to deliver urgent aid to the people of Darfur," said Emma Naylor of the humanitarian group Oxfam International. In Darfur, more than 200,000 people have been killed and at least 2 million others displaced since 2003 when the armed conflict began between rebel groups from ethnic African tribes and Khartoum-backed Janjaweed militias. "The truth is the people of Darfur are living in the midst of a massive humanitarian and human rights crisis," said Amnesty International's Irene Khan. "They can wait no longer for protection: it must be delivered immediately." In Darfur, in addition to civilians, many aid workers remain vulnerable to violent attacks by militias, which have continued since last September, when the Security Council first voted to send 20,000 UN peacekeepers to the region. The Council failed to implement its decision at that time due to fierce opposition from the Sudanese government. Khartoum later demanded that troops for such a force come from African countries. Some reports indicate that the hybrid force would draw a large numbers of troops from Nigeria, Uganda, and Rwanda. Many observers have described Tuesday's resolution as a major step forward, but some point out that its language on the force's actual mandate is relatively weak and vague, which casts doubts about the peacekeepers' ability to protect civilian lives. "The real issue is whether or not the force commander General Martin Agwai and the troop-contributing countries will be willing to risk the lives of their soldiers and policemen in order to stop killings," said Mark Malan of Refugees International, a Washington, DC-based group engaged in humanitarian efforts in Darfur. In Malan's view, the peacekeeping force would prove more effective if the authorizing resolution were augmented by more specific troop instructions laid out in a joint report recently prepared by the UN chief and the chairman of the AU Commission. That report recommends numerous actions to protect civilians and aid workers throughout the Darfur region. But whether commanders on the ground will take actions in accordance with the recommendations of that report is yet to be seen. The final text of the authorizing resolution suggests that it is, however, a successful effort to put the lingering diplomatic deadlock to an end. Following objections from Khartoum, the text of the initial draft resolution was amended -- in Malan's words, "watered down." As a result, the force will not be authorized to seize or collect weapons and the threat of sanctions on Sudan, should the peacekeeping force be obstructed, was removed. In the past the United States tried hard to impose strict economic sanctions on Sudan, but failed to materialize such a move due to strong opposition from Russia and China. Those among the U.S.-based civil society groups who stand for speedy and swift actions in Darfur are now calling for Washington to play a leadership role in providing adequate funding and logistical support, as well as soliciting international troop contributions. "The people of Darfur cannot continue to be denied protection because of diplomatic obstacles and bureaucratic delays," said Africa Action's Akuetteh in appealing to the U.S. to do more to end the cycle of violence and bloodshed in Darfur. ....................................................................................
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