US Must introduce SC Resolution on Peacekeeping Mission

AFRICA ACTION

Press Releass

Contact: Ann-Louise Colgan (202) 546-7961

Feb 2, 2006 (WASHINGTON, DC) — On the second day of the
month-long U.S. presidency of the United Nations (UN) Security Council,
Africa Action today gathered scores of activists outside the White House
for a rally urging a new Security Council resolution on Darfur that
would authorize the swift deployment of a UN peacekeeping force to that
troubled region. Africa Action and its supporters today rejected U.S.
plans to substitute a Security Council statement for the necessary
Security Council resolution on Darfur.

Statements yesterday by Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Zoellick indicate
that some action on Darfur can be expected from the UN Security Council
in the coming days. But Africa Action emphasized today that nothing
short of a UN resolution will address the urgency of the situation in
Darfur and authorize immediate action. A statement from the Security
Council would merely trigger planning toward a possible future
peacekeeping mission, but would not formally commit the Security Council
to such a UN mission in Darfur. A resolution is needed to “re-hat” the
African Union (AU) operation in Darfur as a UN force and to authorize
the creation and rapid deployment of the UN force to protect civilians
and humanitarian operations in Darfur.

Salih Booker, Executive Director of Africa Action, said today, “A
Security Council resolution – not a statement – is needed now to
authorize an international peacekeeping mission to augment the African
Union’s efforts in Darfur. This is what the U.S. should be preparing to
introduce at the Security Council this week. Anything less than a new
resolution on Darfur will represent an evasion by the U.S. of this
unique opportunity and of its moral obligation to stop the ongoing
genocide in Darfur.”

Booker added, “Precedents of Security Council resolutions authorizing UN
peacekeeping missions in Liberia and elsewhere show how a UN mission can
be rapidly established and can successfully reinforce the efforts of
African regional bodies, which intervened as ?first responders’. These
precedents provide models for a new Security Council resolution on
Darfur, which must be introduced and passed immediately. A failure to do
so will mean deadly consequences for the people of Darfur.”

Today’s rally at the White House featured prominent speakers and
creative street theater, and brought activists from across the
Washington, DC area and from campuses and communities on the East Coast.
Guest speakers included Emira Woods of Foreign Policy in Focus, Radio
Host Joe Madison, Zeinab Eyega of Sauti Yetu Center for African Women,
and Fidele Lumeya from Church World Service. After the rally, more than
a dozen participants took part in an act of civil disobedience to
emphasize the depth of their concern about the ongoing crisis in Darfur.

Yesterday’s National Call-In Day generated hundreds of calls to the U.S.
mission to the UN urging a new U.S. resolution on Darfur to be
introduced at the Security Council as a matter of urgency. Next
Wednesday, February 8th, at 12pm, Africa Action will hold a rally and
picket outside the U.S. mission to the UN in New York, highlighting the
need for urgent U.S. action on the Darfur crisis.

For further analysis on the crisis in Darfur and the opportunity for
U.S. action at the UN Security Council this month, see
http://www.africaaction.org/darfur .