Letter to UN Secretary-General on UN forces in Sudan
Honourable Kofi Annan
The Secretary-General
United Nations
304 E 45th Street
New York, NY 10017
USA
Cc: Ambassador Wang Guangya
President of Security Council and
China Permanent UN Representative
E-mail: [email protected]
Ambassador John R. Bolton
US Permanent UN Representative
140 East 45th Street
New York, NY 10017
Ambassador Sir Emyr Jones Parry
UK Permanent UN Representative
One Dag Hammarskjöld
28th Floor, 885 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Ambassador M. Jean-Marc de LA Sabliere
France Permanent UN Representative
One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza
245 East 47th Street, 44th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Ambassador Mr. Sergey Lavrov
Russian Permanent UN Representative
136 East 67th Street
New York, NY 10017
Mr. Jan Pronk
Special UN Representative of the Secretary-General
United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
P O Box 5013, Grand Central Station
New York, NY 10163-5013
Lt. General Salva Kiir Mayardit
President of Southern Sudan and
Commander-in-Chief of SPLA
Juba, Southern Sudan
Monday April 10, 2006
Dear Mr. Secretary-General,
Subject: REQUEST FOR STRONGER MANDATE, POWERFUL
BACK UP AND ROBUST UN FORCES IN SUDAN
WE the undersigned Sudanese and friends are grateful to the Security Council for resolving unanimously to maintain United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and send a new force to Darfur this year. While planning to implement this resolution, we would like you to recommend to the Security Council to strongly mandate, powerfully backup and send robust UN Forces to Darfur NOW.
We note existing mandate of UNMIS which specifies that acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, UNMIS is authorized to take the necessary action, in the areas of deployment of its forces, and as it deems within its capabilities, to protect United Nations personnel and to ensure their security and freedom of movement, as well as, without prejudice to the responsibility of the Sudanese Government, to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence. Please re-examine this mandate since Sudan Government masterminds and backs militia genocide atrocities so that UNMIS protective actions are not limited by the phrase “Without prejudice to the responsibility of the Sudanese Government.” Besides, UNMIS military capabilities should be powerfully backed up to remain superior to that of Sudan Government so that they are unhindered.
The African Union (AU) Forces currently in Darfur cannot protect lives there against Janjaweed genocide atrocities as they lack necessary mandate and resources to do so. The same applies in South Sudan where the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) in Equatoria and other militia elsewhere are also killing innocent people now in the presence of incompletely-mandated UN Forces and Staff whose lives are also at risk as sadly testified by the death of UN Staff Nabil Bahjat Abdulla following his shooting in Yei Town. We deeply regret his tragic death while trying to help our suffering people.
Apart from militia, the continuing presence of Sudan Army in Southern Sudan in locations where they are not supposed to be according to the CPA, poises real threat to civilians and potential clashes with SPLA Forces. This can easily ignite a restart of war in Southern Sudan which further justifies the need for robust UN Forces there to effectively monitor and protect the CPA.
Your Excellency, we strongly denounce the Sudan Government and Egypt-driven Arab League for rejecting deployment of UN Forces in Darfur in preference for ailing AU Forces. Their position is totally inconsiderate and genocidal. Sudan Government has already accepted the presence of international monitors by signing the CPA and Arab League driven by refugees-murdering Egypt is bias in favour of fellow Arabs. Besides, since they say they want to implement existing CPA and reach a new agreement in Darfur, the presence of UN Forces will assist them in doing so. On the other hand, the fact that the Sudan Government is opposed because they fear UN soldiers would be able to arrest anyone charged by ICC for war crimes indicates that they are simply putting their own interest over and above overall safety of the people they claim to govern. Therefore, please urge the Sudan Government and Arab League to reconsider and ignore them if they insist. After all, UN Mandate is for protection of people’s interest, not those of Governments or Leagues and we believe those indicted with war crimes in Darfur must be arrested and brought to justice anyway.
Latest news of prevention of your own UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Mr. Jan Egeland from visiting Darfur by Sudan Government under pretext of the Cartoon Row is a defiant and deliberate act to conceal renewed attacks on civilian population by Janjaweed Militia from the eyes of international community. Please take unprecedented step to also recommend tougher sanctions on Sudan for continuing to defy the international community, exempting marginalised areas.
The serial genocides in South Sudan where over two and half million lives have been lost so far and the ongoing one in Darfur with 200,000 people now killed and millions displaced can only be stopped by effective UN intervention. In deed, before Darfur, numerous generations of families were wiped out in Dongla, Nuba Mountains, Southern Blue Nile, Abyei, Bahr-el-Ghazal, Upper Nile and Equatoria by the same Khartoum-backed Janjaweed called Murahilin, Mujahideen and Abororo. These innocent families could have been saved by UN intervention.
Honourable Secretary-General, a precedent has long been set for UN Peacekeeping Forces when NATO forces under UN mandate, stepped into the Balkans to stop genocide. Whether in the Balkans or Sudan, we concur with you that genocide is evil. Moreover human life in Darfur is as valuable as that in the Balkans or elsewhere. Therefore, immediate deployment of robust UN Forces, backed by stronger NATO involvement is needed in Sudan as it was in the Balkans.
Vital UN intervention should not be deferred till peace is reached in Darfur as demanded by Sudan Government. UN Forces cannot be expected to compile statistics of deaths in Darfur; they need to prevent the deaths. The suffering Darfur people, indeed the majority of peace-loving Sudanese people World-Wide, expect and demand the UN intervention NOW; not following a hypothetical and elusive peace deal.
The money pledged in Khartoum by Arab League to African Union Forces in Darfur from October 2006 is indeed medicine after death as described by Baba Gana Kingibe, Head of AU Mission in Sudan. It is also a ploy to seduce AU not to hand off to a United Nations Force. Please disregard this pledge.
Mr. Annan, we are encouraged by the recent statement of US President George W. Bush that: “There is no time to waste when there are people suffering and dying everyday”. We hope Mr. Bush will follow his strong words with powerful actions.
Your own Special UN Envoy for Sudan Mr. Jan Pronk emphasises that Sudan is in trouble and the international community is still not acting fast. We believe United Nations Security Council should not unleash a defiant Government and its murderous militias to wipe out innocent civilians.
Please consider our request and stop genocide in Sudan NOW.
Thank You.
Organisations Endorsing:
– Abdellatife Ismail, Executive Director, Darfur Centre for Human Rights and Development, P. O. Box 48299, London W2 7YG, UK. Phones in UK (44) 207 607 2309, 07850380180, 07930691575. Phone in USA 001 312 786 1514 E.mail [email protected] Website www.dcfhr.org
– Fr. Alex L. Kenyi, Executive Director, Assistance, Minnesota, 120 8th Street South, P. O. Box 956, Moorhead, MN 56560
– Jimmy Mulla, Southern Sudan Voice for Freedom, 1925 K Street, NW # 400, Washington, D. C. 20006, Telephone (202) 737 7200 Extension 245
– Joseph Emmanuel, Senior Program Director, Integrated Living Services, Administration and Training Centre, 655 West Smith Street, Suite #207, Kent, WA 98032, Telephone (253) 8138706
– Luka Drane Logoye, Chairman, Human Moral Care (HMC)
Lula Rizig, President, Southern Sudan Women Empowerment Network (SSWEN), P. O. Box 64322, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Mayen Wol, Sudanese Community Refugee Services in Michigan, P. O. Box 2672, Grand Rapid, Michigan, 49501, USA
– Ngor Kolong Ngor, Rise Development Organisation
Sisto Olur, Peace With Neighbours, Hjellplassen 35, N-9750 Honningsvag, Norway, Telephone 0047 9321 9832
– Dr. Achier Deng Akol, South Sudan Freedom (SSF), 21 Francis Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 2QY, UK, Telephone 0044 2084276804
Silvestro Akara Bakheit, President, New Sudan Generation, 548 Carter Street, Suite 404C, San Francisco, CA 94134, USA
– Also, the letter is endorsed by around 120 people.