US’s Rice: `World needs to act’ to protect Sudan’s Darfur
April 14, 2006 (WASHINGTON) — U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Thursday for speedy deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force to western Sudan, charging that the Khartoum government has failed to protect the people of the region.
“The world needs to act,” Rice said, indicating alarm over the continued violence in the Darfur region, where more than 2 million people have been uprooted from their homes.
She said the U.S. has been pushing hard in the Security Council to lay the groundwork for deployment of peacekeepers, including planning and troop recruitment.
Rice was joined at a news conference by Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay.
Efforts by 7,000 African Union peacekeepers have not been enough to bring peace to the region, partly because the area is too extensive to patrol.
U.S. President George W. Bush has suggested that the U.N. match the A.U. contingent by sending 7,000 troops of its own. An interim role in Darfur for North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces also is being discussed.
The A.U. has agreed to a U.N. deployment but the Sudanese government hasn’t.
“They have failed in their obligation to protect the people of Darfur and they clearly need international help to do that,” Rice said.
Earlier, Robert Zoellick, the State Department’s No. 2 official, said conditions may be ripe for a breakthrough in Darfur peace negotiations in Nigeria.
He said negotiators are attempting to get the parties to reach an agreement by late April.
“I believe we can get this done,” Zoellick said, declaring that there can be no lasting peace in Darfur until the government, janjaweed militias and rebel forces agree on terms for a settlement.
Without an accord, Zoellick said, all other activities being conducted by the international community in Darfur are no more than a “band aid” on the problem.
He spoke to a gathering at the Brookings Institution, a private public policy research group.
The talks are being held in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. Some of the issues are similar to those that were on the table in North-South Sudan peace talks, which ended 15 months ago with a comprehensive peace agreement, Zoellick said.
He noted that negotiators in those discussions were able to reach agreement on the thorny issue of wealth and power sharing. He added that there is no reason why diplomats in Abuja cannot overcome differences on the same issue.
The most difficult issue in Abuja relates to post-conflict security arrangements, including disarmament of the factions and their integration into a single cohesive force, Zoellick said.
One key problem in Abuja is that the Darfur rebel groups have differing agendas, he added.
Once the fighting ends, he said, the international community must come together in support of programs that will enable Darfur’s displaced persons to resume normal lives.
“We are going to have to give these people a chance to get back on their feet,” Zoellick said.
(ST/AP)