`Never Again’ – again?

By Robert Wexler, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel

August 8, 2005 — In 1994, the world remained unconscionably silent as 800,000 Rwandans were massacred in the worst genocide since WWII. The 2004 film Hotel Rwanda brought these atrocities to a world audience and vividly depicted the apathy of the international community that sat idly by as one-tenth of Rwanda’s population was killed.

While U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan recently conceded that “the international community failed Rwanda and that must leave us always with a sense of bitter regret,” genocide has surfaced again in the Darfur region of Sudan. As the death toll surpasses 400,000, the world has a moral obligation to stop the genocide before we fail the people of Darfur and regret our inaction once again.

For more than two years, the Arab militias have engaged in a systematic campaign of mass-killing, razing villages, rape and starvation of non-Arabs in Darfur. The Sudanese government remains complicit for funding and arming the militias, known as Janjaweed, condoning the violence and impeding the flow of humanitarian aid.

With U.S. troops overextended in Iraq and Afghanistan, the best way to stop the genocide and rape in Darfur is to strengthen the size and mandate of the African Union Mission in Sudan. The African Union has proven effective where present, but much of Darfur — comparable in size to Texas — remains beyond the reach of its 3,000 troops. In addition, the AMIS is significantly constrained by its peacekeeping mandate that limits troops to “monitoring the cease-fire” and precludes them from using military force.

At this juncture, the AMIS mandate must be enhanced to enable it to take all necessary measures, including offensive action, to protect the people of Darfur, and the number of troops must be drastically increased.

Surprisingly, President Bashir indicated that he would allow for the entry of more AU troops, but AU Chairman and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo indicated that a changed mandate was unlikely, due to limited resources.

It is incumbent upon the international community to assist AMIS in its plight, and I implore the Bush administration to offer the AU more assistance in the way of training, funding, intelligence, transport, communications and material support.

This sentiment is echoed in recently introduced legislation (H.R. 3127) which supports the expansion of AMIS so it achieves the capacity needed to enforce civilian protection in Darfur. It is now up to President Bush to back this legislation, exert pressure on the AU to change its mandate in Darfur and send an appropriate funding request to Congress. And any funding we provide AMIS must be reinforced with further funding to address the grave humanitarian disaster unraveling on the ground.

Three weeks ago, I organized a bipartisan event with 25 members of the House and two senators to voice our shared concerns; the event was supported by Christian, Jewish and Muslim groups, in addition to the Holocaust Museum, the NAACP and other nongovernmental organizations. Our wide-ranging unity illustrates the shared responsibility of all Americans to ensure that the darkest moments of history are not repeated.

All of humanity must now join us in demanding action for the people of Darfur, before it is far too late.

U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler is a Boca Raton Democrat.