World powers press Sudan on Darfur UN force
July 18, 2006 (BRUSSELS) – World powers pressed Sudan on Tuesday to accept a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur to replace an ill-equipped African Union force that has been unable to stem the violence that Washington calls genocide.
Sudan said it would reject the move once more.
The United Nations and aid agencies will also press donors at talks in Brussels between U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the EU, the United States and Sudan to finance the 7,000-strong AU force for a few more months before a transition to the U.N.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and 2.5 million forced into exile in three years of fighting in lawless Sudan.
“It is very important that the government of Sudan accepts this transition as called for by the African Union, as called for by the UN, the EU, the world community,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer told Reuters ahead of the talks.
“To protect innocent lives in Darfur we need an international peacekeeping operation with the capability to address the complexity of the challenges,” she said, stressing that only the United Nations had these capabilities.
“A U.N. operation is the only viable and realistic option in Darfur in the long term,” the European Union said on the eve of the talks.
“This is exactly what we all want, what is necessary,” EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.
CLASH EXPECTED
World powers are set to clash with Sudan’s Foreign Minister Lam Akol, as Foreign Ministry spokesman Jamal Ibrahim reiterated on Monday Sudan’s rejection of a U.N. mission.
Eight leading aid agencies said in a joint call on Tuesday the international community should focus on funding the AU to stop the killings now, rather than discuss the transfer.
The mission only has enough money to run until August, EU officials said.
“The African Union … simply cannot be expected to fulfil its mandate without proper support,” said Barbara Stocking, director of the British branch of Oxfam, in a joint statement with other aid agencies.
The AU had wanted to hand its operation to the United Nations at the end of September but its leaders decided earlier this month to extend its mission until the end of the year because of Sudan’s opposition to any U.N. deployment.
Frazer said the United States still hoped for a transition to the U.N. at the end of September and was not prepared yet to finance a prolongation of the AU mission.
“While an enormous amount of money is being spent debating what will happen in six months time, no one seems to have noticed that people are still being killed today,” said Denis Caillaux, secretary general of CARE International.
The agencies urged donors to make pledges whether or not there is an agreement for a transition to the U.N.
Violence erupted in Darfur in 2003 when non-Arab rebels took up arms against the Arab dominated government, accusing it of neglect. Khartoum responded by arming a mostly Arab militia which stands accused of rape, murder and looting.
(Reuters)