Envoy pleades to give AU force means to enforce Darfur peace
April 18, 2006 (UNITED NATIONS) — The chief African Union mediator on Darfur peace talks pleaded with U.N. members on Tuesday to give its peacekeepers the means to enforce an anticipated cease-fire pact in the turbulent Sudan region.
“The agreement is clearly within our reach, even if a lot of hard work still remains,” Salim Ahmed Salim told the U.N. Security Council of the two-year talks he leads in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.
The main bulwark against abuses in Darfur is the cash-strapped and under-equipped African Union, which is patrolling the vast desert region with a force of 7,000.
While Western nations have helped the AU, their aid is considered insufficient. Salim said the international community should not wait until a U.N. force could go to Darfur to increase their assistance.
“There is no point in calling for the speedy conclusion of an agreement if nothing will be done to appropriately prepare the African Union Mission in the Sudan (AMIS) for its expanded mandate,” Salim said.
The current round, the seventh, of peace talks between the Sudan government and two rebel groups, has dragged on in a small hotel on the outskirts of Abuja since Nov. 29. The AU is hoping for a cease-fire agreement by the end of April.
Salim warned, however, to expect “further frustrating hesitation” as the parties contemplate their future.
He plans to present “final status issues” to negotiators in the “sensitive home run in the next weeks,” that will include details on power and wealth sharing and a formal dialogue among Darfurians.
The conflict in Darfur has killed tens of thousands of people and driven 2 million from their homes since early 2003. Violence has escalated to the point that many parts of the region are no-go areas for aid workers.
On wealth sharing, Salim said he envisaged assistance for refugees, a formula to transfer revenues from the national government to the region, seed money for reconstruction and compensation for victims.
But he said the security arrangements would “make or break” the negotiations on Darfur where militia, bandits, foreign combatants, organized rebels and tribal forces run rampant.
Each step of a cease-fire pact would have to be monitored and verified so that groups would disarm and be integrated into society or a regular army, he said.
“I am here to plead with you that this council extends maximum support to AMIS ensure that the cease-fire agreement, once signed, could be followed up by the upgrading…of AMIS, to enable it to cope with additional responsibilities,” said Salim.
(Reuters)