Experience not nationality should determine new Darfur force – rights gp
August 16, 2007 (CAIRO) — Getting experienced peacekeeping troops quickly onto the ground in Sudan’s war torn western region of Darfur is more important than just ensuring they are all African, an international human rights group said Thursday.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch wrote African Union Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare and U.N. Undersecretary Jean-Marie Guehenno a letter cautioning that adherence to Sudan’s wish for the proposed force be entirely African could delay its much needed deployment.
“The need for specialized units and support will likely require reliance on non-African countries,” wrote Steve Crawshaw, the organization’s advocacy director.
“The African Union and United Nations must be prepared to look elsewhere when necessary to field the most capable and timely force possible for Darfur,” it added.
Konare on Sunday announced that due to the overwhelming response from the continent, no non-African forces would be needed for the force, authorized by the U.N. Security Council on July 31 to consist of 20,000 peacekeepers and 6,000 civilian police.
HRW, however, maintained that the complex nature of the task and the marked inability of the 7,000-strong AU force currently in the country to stabilize the region points up to the need for more experienced troops.
Sudan is adamantly opposed to non-Africans playing any major role in Darfur, which has delayed the authorization of the new force for months despite mounting pressure to stop the violence that has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million in the last four years.
The rights group’s concerns dovetail with those of U.S. envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios, who previously said that Khartoum would have to accept non-African troops because continent does not have enough trained soldiers to fully staff the peacekeeping contingent.
(AP)