UN, AU agree to joint force that can deter violence in Darfur
May 24, 2007 (UNITED NATIONS) — The U.N. and the African Union agreed Thursday on a highly mobile, joint force capable of deterring violence to help protect civilians and restore security in Darfur – but Sudan holds the key to its deployment.
The 39-page report proposing the mandate and structure of an A.U.-U.N. “hybrid” force with at least 23,000 troops and police will be sent to the Sudanese government for approval. “Now the ball will be in Sudan’s court,” said U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, the current Security Council president.
Security Council experts met Thursday afternoon to discuss the report and a draft statement proposed by the U.S. that calls the A.U.-U.N. agreement “an important development” in furthering the Darfur peace process. It urges the Sudanese government to cooperate fully in “the expeditious start-up and implementation of the U.N.-A.U. hybrid operation.”
Khalilzad said he hopes the council will adopt the statement on Friday.
Sudan’s U.N. Ambassador Abdelmahmood Abdelhaleem told reporters Tuesday the government would study the report when it arrives “and convey…remarks on it as soon as possible. It will not take months.”
The four-year conflict between ethnic African rebels and pro-government janjaweed militia in the vast western Darfur region has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million Darfurians. A beleaguered 7,000-strong African Union force has been unable to stop the fighting, and Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir has stalled implementation of a three-phase U.N. plan he agreed to in November to strengthen the force.
While Al-Bashir has given a green light to the first two phases, he has refused to sign off on the third and final phase – the hybrid U.N.-A.U. force – saying he would only allow a larger African force with technical and logistical support from the U.N.
The hybrid force proposed Thursday by the A.U. and U.N. envisions highly mobile troops “capable and ready to deter violence, including in a pre-emptive manner,” robustly equipped, and backed by aerial surveillance and aircraft to move soldiers quickly to address threats to security.
Mobile infantry battalions would provide security at camps for those who have fled their homes and patrol roads and humanitarian supply routes, and around towns and villages, during the day and at night to restore confidence.
Military observers would track the activities of armed militias, monitor compliance with the Darfur Peace Agreement signed in May 2006 by the government and one rebel group, and monitor the volatile border between Sudan, Chad and Central African Republic where the conflict has spilled over.
The organizations proposed two options for the military force – one with 19,500 troops including 18 infantry battalions and the other with 17,605 troops including 15 infantry battalions.
The A.U.-U.N. proposal states that every effort will be made to keep the hybrid force predominantly African, as al-Bashir demanded.
The top A.U.-U.N. representative in Darfur will be the Republic of Congo’s former foreign minister, Rodolphe Adada, who was appointed on May 8. On Thursday, Gen. Martin Agwai, who has been chief of Nigeria’s defense staff, was appointed commander of the A.U. force, and he will eventually command the hybrid force.
The issue of command and control, however, apparently remains unresolved.
The report noted that “further clarity and agreement on the U.N. role in command and control” of the hybrid mission will be required by countries contributing troops and police.
The U.N. and A.U. appealed to all the parties to stop pursuing a military solution in Darfur and honor past cease-fire agreements.
They also urged council members and countries in the region to support efforts by A.U. special envoy Salim Ahmed Salim and U.N. special envoy Jan Eliasson to bring all parties to the negotiating table to reach a political agreement and restore peace to Darfur.
“A peacekeeping operation cannot assist in restoring security in Darfur in the absence of an inclusive political process,” the two organizations said. “At the same time, a political solution will be unsustainable if the parties do not have confidence that a strong, impartial, proactive, peacekeeping force is being deployed to support and monitor its implementation.”
“The operation’s success depends critically on whether the government of Sudan will come to see the United Nations and the hybrid operation as part of the solution to the conflict in Darfur,” the A.U. and U.N. said.
(AP)