Only UN mandate for AU in Darfur can stop genocide – Africa Action
Exhibit of Children’s Drawings from Darfur Prompts Thousands of Postcards to White House; U.S. Urged to Lead United Nations to Intervene, Protect Civilians in Darfur
Nov 21, 2005 (WASHINGTON, DC) — Africa Action today called
for a Chapter 7 United Nations (UN) mandate to be extended to the
African Union (AU) force in Darfur, Sudan. As new reports from the media
and from the UN confirm a sharp increase in violence in Darfur in recent
weeks, Africa Action today reiterated its call for action in the UN to
provide a stronger mandate and larger force to support the AU operation.
Citing precedents of such cooperation in West Africa in the past decade,
and more recently in Burundi, Africa Action urges the U.S. to lead UN
action, under Chapter 7 of its Charter, to confer international
authority and a protection mandate on the AU mission in Darfur, and to
immediately begin to reinforce this mission with a UN intervention force
to protect the people of Darfur.
Meanwhile, Africa Action’s exhibit of children’s drawings from Darfur
continues to appear in public spaces across the Washington, DC area,
prompting thousands of concerned citizens to send postcards of these
drawings to the White House, demanding action from the President through
the UN to stop the genocide in Darfur.
Salih Booker, Executive Director of Africa Action, said, “The African
Union urgently needs international reinforcement, and the 105 armored
vehicles that began arriving in Darfur this weekend are absolutely
insufficient. The international community must throw its full weight
behind the AU mission and immediately authorize a protection mandate and
a broader international intervention in support of the AU to stop the
genocide in Darfur.”
Africa Action commends the important leadership provided by the African
Union as ‘first responder’ to the genocide in Darfur, but today
reiterated its call on the international community to take urgent action
to stop this crime against humanity.
Ann-Louise Colgan, Director of Policy Analysis & Communications at
Africa Action, said, “Previous successful interventions in Liberia,
Sierra Leone and Burundi, among others, have shown the value of UN
cooperation with African regional bodies in promoting peace and security
on the continent. The AU mission in Darfur should receive immediate
international backing in the form of a more robust mandate and a larger
UN intervention force to ensure its success in protecting the people of
Darfur.”
The new monthly report from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on the
situation in Darfur notes an “extremely worrying trend” of increased
violence and deteriorating security throughout the region. State
Department officials continue to travel to Sudan ahead of the resumption
of peace talks between the Sudanese governments and Darfur rebels, but
Africa Action notes the ongoing failure of U.S. policies to address the
urgent need for protection for the people of Darfur.
Africa Action emphasizes that real U.S. leadership on Darfur should come
in the form of a resolution at the UN Security Council to provide a UN
mandate for the AU mission and to supplement its efforts with a “blue
helmeted” international force.
Such an intervention would serve four critical purposes: (1) Stop the
killings, rapes and pillaging in Darfur; (2) Provide security to
facilitate humanitarian assistance programs for internally displaced
people (IDPs) and refugees; (3) Enforce the African Union cease-fire
between the Khartoum government and the rebel groups in Darfur to allow
meaningful political negotiations to move forward, and (4) facilitate
the voluntary return of IDPs to their land and the reconstruction of
their homes by providing a secure environment.
Marie Clarke Brill, Director of Public Education & Mobilization, said
today, “The U.S. remains the only government to have acknowledged that
what is happening in Darfur constitutes genocide. This means that a top
priority of the U.S. should be providing protection to the people of
Darfur. Thousands of people in the U.S. have already sent postcards to
the White House in recent weeks urging such action, and hundreds more
people will take part in a major Day of Action at the State Department
next month, to demand specific steps through the United Nations to
protect the people of Darfur.”
Africa Action’s exhibit, “The Children of Darfur: Picturing Genocide”
will be hosted at universities, organizations, places of worship and
other venues around the Washington, DC area in December and January to
help raise awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and the urgent
need for U.S. action. A full schedule for the exhibit is available on
Africa Action’s website at:
http://apic.igc.org/campaign_new/darfur_picturing_genocide.php
For further analysis on the Bush Administration’s inadequate response to
the crisis in Darfur, see Africa Action’s “Chronology of a Failure to
Stop Genocide”, available at http://www.africaaction.org/darfur