UN Security Council to discuss Darfur next week
November 21, 2007 (UNITED NATIONS) — The UN Security Council is expected to discuss the progress on the Darfur UN-AU hybrid force as well as the political process next Monday.
UN Security Council resolution 1769 establishing UN-AU hybrid force provided for a transition from the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) to the force known as UNAMID by December 31st.
The resolution requires the UN Secretary General to present a report every 90 days on the progress made on the implementation of the light, heavy support and UNAMID. It also requires an update on the implementation of the joint communiqué between Sudan and the UN on facilitation of humanitarian activities in Darfur.
Ban Ki-Moon said in his latest report that several obstacles stand in the way of a speedy deployment including the land needed for the construction of UNAMID headquarters in Darfur. The Sudanese government has yet to assign the land for the hybrid force.
The other issue pending is Sudan’s approval on a list of troop donor countries for the Darfur force. At Sudan’s request the UN resolution called for a force with a “predominantly African character” but stressed the need for “a force which could effectively implement the mandate set out in resolution 1769”.
Last week the Sudanese president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir today reiterated his rejection of Western troops and as well as those from Thailand and Nepal in the Darfur peacekeeping force.
The peace talks which began in Libya last month saw participation by only eight of the smaller rebel groups. It was boycotted by two major rebel leaders from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM).
International experts estimate 200,000 people have died in the conflict, which Washington calls genocide, a term European governments are reluctant to use. The Sudan government says 9,000 people have been killed.
(ST)