UN Security Council must do more for Darfur

The Darfur Consortium

Contact: Dismas Nkunda +256-78-310-404

KAMPALA/NEW YORK, March 28, 2005 — The Darfur Consortium, an umbrella
group of primarily Africa-based civil society organizations, today called on
the Security Council to take decisive action to halt the ongoing crisis in
Sudan’s Darfur region.

Last week’s Security Council Resolution 1590 authorized deployment of a
10,000 strong UN force to assist with the implementation of the peace
accords ending the civil war in the South of Sudan. But it did not specify
how the African Union (AU) mission currently in Darfur would be assisted to
ensure the functioning of a fully effective “protection force.”

“While Security Council Resolution 1590 was a step forward for the people of
Southern Sudan and Sudan as a whole, once again the people of Darfur have
been held hostage to international politics,” said Dismas Nkunda of the
Consortium. “In considering a new resolution on Darfur this week the
Security Council must send two unequivocal messages: that protection of
civilians in Darfur is non-negotiable and that those responsible for ongoing
atrocities will be held accountable. Darfurians can wait no longer.”

Despite the best efforts of the African Union (AU) mission, the work of the
AU troops currently deployed on the ground in Darfur has been severely
hampered by a restricted mandate and a lack of human, technical and
logistical resources. “The AU must receive the necessary authorization from
the Security Council to develop a mission mandate and ground presence which
will allow it to adequately protect the civilian population and facilitate
the delivery of humanitarian aid in Darfur,” said Dismas Nkunda.

An effective protection force is only one of a range of measures which are
needed to effectively address the ongoing human rights and humanitarian
catastrophe. The Security Council must also take bold steps to ensure that
justice for the horrendous crimes committed in Darfur is effectively and
expeditiously carried out and build the framework of mechanisms necessary to
ensure that the victims of the conflict and their descendants are adequately
compensated for their losses. Sanctions must also be imposed to reflect the
determination of the international community to take action against those
who so flagrantly defy decisions of the Security Council.

Referral of the situation of Darfur to the International Criminal Court
(ICC) by the UN Security Council is the foundation stone of this process. In
January the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur reported to the
Security Council that “the Sudanese justice system is unable and unwilling
to address the situation in Darfur.” Attempts to mount trials for a small
handful of alleged perpetrators have been entirely insufficient against the
background of the scale and ferocity of the violence. A referral to the ICC
will not only send a strong message that Africa and the international
community will stand side by side with the people of Sudan in ensuring that
those who have committed the gravest of offences will be held accountable.
Ultimately it may even prevent further atrocity.

“The suffering in Darfur continues,” said Dismas Nkunda. “It is past time that the Security Council specifically and forcefully addressed the needs of
Darfurians.”

– Olivia Bueno (on behalf of the Darfur Consortium)
Research and Communications Coordinator
International Refugee Rights Initiative
– c/o the Social Science Research Council
– 810 Seventh Avenue
– New York, NY 10018
– Phone: 1-212-377-2700 ext. 416
– Fax: 1-212-377-2727
– E-mail: [email protected]
– Web: www.darfurconsortium.org