Strong, well-funded force needed in Darfur – Ban Ki-Moon
Jan 11, 2007 (UNITED NATIONS) — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the United Nations must succeed in putting “a strong, well-resourced force” on the ground in conflict-wracked Darfur, saying his top envoy was assured Thursday by Sudan’s president of strong cooperation.
Ban said his envoy, Jan Eliasson, had “very good discussions” with President Omar al-Bashir, but the secretary-general was not sure what was said about the Sudanese leader’s rejection of U.N. troops in Darfur.
Al-Bashir said in an interview Wednesday with the Associated Press in Khartoum that U.N. troops were not required in Darfur because the 7,000-strong African Union force on the ground could maintain order. “Our experience with U.N. operations in the world is not encouraging,” he said.
Al-Bashir’s comment contradicted Sudan’s reported agreement on a three-phase U.N. package to help end the escalating violence in Darfur that culminates with the deployment of a 22,000-strong “hybrid” African Union-United Nations force.
Sudanese officials and Ban’s predecessor, Kofi Annan, agreed on the package at a Nov. 16 meeting in Addis Ababa, and al-Bashir backed the package at the Nov. 30 summit of the A.U. Peace and Security Council in Abuja, Nigeria.
At his first news conference since taking over as U.N. chief on Jan. 1, Ban was asked whether he planned to press al-Bashir on the deployment of the “hybrid” force when they meet during the upcoming summit of the A.U.’s 53 leaders in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Jan. 29-30.
“Given the humanitarian situation, and very worrisome situation in Darfur, it is particularly important that we succeed in putting a strong, well-resourced force on the ground,” Ban said. “There was an agreement in Addis Ababa and Abuja and we are committed to implementing these agreements which have already been made.”
He said the discussions between Eliasson and al-Bashir “should give us some good prospect in implementing this agreement, and I will follow up this matter.”
Ban said Eliasson “was assured of very strong cooperation and assistance on the part of the Sudanese government and president, to have a very good cooperation among United Nations, Sudanese government and the African Union.”
Fighting in Darfur began in February 2003, when rebels from black African tribes took up arms, complaining of decades of neglect and discrimination by Sudan’s Arab-dominated government. The government is accused of unleashing Arab tribal militia known as the Janjaweed against civilians in a campaign of murder, rape and arson – a charge the government denies.
The poorly equipped and financed African Union force now in Darfur has been unable to bring security to region, and the conflict has spilled over into neighboring Chad and Central African Republic.
Al-Bashir rejected a U.N. Security Council resolution in August that called for more than 20,000 U.N. peacekeepers to replace the overwhelmed AU force, claiming a U.N. force would compromise Sudan’s sovereignty and try to recolonize the country.
Annan then proposed the three-step U.N. package.
The U.N. is going ahead with the first phase of the package that will provide the AU with about 140 military officers and U.N. police, 36 armored personnel carriers, night-vision goggles, and Global Positioning System equipment. A second, larger support package for the AU that could include several hundred U.N. military, police and civilian personnel and aircraft is being discussed.
Ban was asked whether he would be willing to consider an ultimatum on a political dialogue, which Eliasson is trying to help revive to bring all parties to the conflict back to the peace table.
“Of course, I would like to see the resolution of the Darfur crisis as soon as possible,” he said, reiterating that it was his “highest priority.”
But Ban said a solution “involves many difficult political dimensions” and he would not give a timetable.
(AP)