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Focus: Situation in Darfur
Dec 9, 2004 Washington
The most recent UN report on the situation in Darfur, Sudan was released this week. It indicates the situation has not yet improved.
Last month, in Nairobi, Kenya, the government of Sudan and rebels signed a memorandum of understanding pledging to end 21 months of fighting in the western Darfur region. There was some optimism that a peace agreement would be reached by the December 31st deadline, but days after the signing, the rebel Sudan Liberation Army (the SLA) attacked a town in northern Darfur and took control of police posts. The Sudanese army retaliated, reportedly using bomber planes to force the SLA to withdraw.
The United Nations has criticized both the government and rebels for not living up to commitments they made to end what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
And this week, in his monthly report to the Security Council on the situation in Darfur, UN Under Secretary for political affairs, Kieran Prendergast said a clear message must be sent to the SLA to stop military action, which appears intended to provoke the government to retaliate. He warned that chaos looms in the region partly because the Sudanese government has not acted against the Arab militias known as Janjaweed for attacks against civilians. .
"Regrettably, the government has made no progress in disarming the Janjaweed. The African Union cease-fire commission has confirmed that to date it has not been invited to verify any disarmament activities by the government, nor has there been any evidence of the government apprehending and bringing to justice Janjaweed leaders for their past crimes, which was a central demand of the Security Council in its resolution 1556," he said.
More than two million people are in need of humanitarian aid in Sudan. Some relief will be available from the United States when President Bush signs legislation approved recently by the US Congress that would authorize 200 million dollars to deploy African peacekeepers to the region. An additional 100 million dollars will be offered as an incentive for the final peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the SLA.
Rick Barton, a former UN high commissioner on refuges, now with the Washington, DC based research group, the Center for Strategic and International Studies says The UN has not done enough.
"I think the un could be more assertive, and should be and at the same time countries like the US that take the high moral position that we are pushing for an aggressive role in Darfur, we could probably strengthen our argument by saying we would put some American soldiers in any peace keeping operation, we would provide more air lift to the African union so it could do it's job," he says.
The US government has not offered to send American peace keepers to the region, but US Ambassador to the UN, John Danforth, who previously served as a peace envoy to Sudan said even though the Security Council has ruled out imposing sanctions against the African nation, the US will try to ensure that "those who engage in atrocities and attacks on civilians will be held accountable by the international community."
This article uses material from VOA.
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