United States still pursuing peace in Darfur – Bolton
July 28, 2006 (WASHINGTON) — The United States continues to “push hard” to bring relief to the people in the Darfur region of western Sudan, where at least 200,000 people have died and more than 2 million have been displaced since 2003, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said July 27.
In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bolton cautioned that even though the United States does “see a way forward, in regard to Darfur, significant challenges remain.”
Bolton was on Capitol Hill in regard to his “recess” appointment as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, which expires in January 2007 if the Senate does not confirm him before then. President Bush installed Bolton at the United Nations in August 2005, during a congressional recess.
The United States is working within the U.N. Security Council, Bolton told the lawmakers, to craft a robust resolution under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter that will afford any U.N. force the capability and the mandate to defend itself and civilians in Darfur.
Russia and China continue to voice opposition to a Chapter VII mandate, he said, but he added that in May the Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1679, designed to facilitate planning for the future deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping operation in the Darfur region.
“We believe this to be a viable precedent for upcoming Darfur resolutions,” he told the lawmakers.
Additionally, he said, “There is also the issue of the government of Sudan agreeing to a U.N. force in Darfur,” adding “significant efforts are ongoing bilaterally and multilaterally to achieve this.
“While this plays out, we continue to do our part toward adopting a resolution, determining force requirements and identifying troop-contributing countries so that we are fully prepared to go in and complete the mission,” he said.
Bolton said the U.N. Technical Assessment Mission has returned from Sudan and is finalizing its report to the Security Council.
Preliminary indications, Bolton said, show that the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations will recommend a U.N. force package in Darfur of approximately 15,000 to 17,000 troops, to be operational on or about January 1, 2007.
“We prefer to have a credible force there sooner than that,” he said, and he expressed concern about the interim period.
“Therefore, while we continue to do all we can to hasten the deployment of a new force, we are also working with our allies and the U.N. to provide support to the existing African Union force presently on the ground in Darfur, known as the African Union Mission in Sudan [AMIS].
“AMIS,” he said, “has done all it can to keep order by patrolling an area nearly the size of Texas with about 7,000 troops, but they have reached the limits of their capabilities. So until we have a U.N. force on the ground, we are working with our NATO allies to support AMIS with immediate assistance in the form of planning, logistics, intelligence support and other help.”
Bolton then quoted President Bush: “‘America will not turn away from this tragedy. We will call genocide by its rightful name, and we will stand up for the innocent until the peace of Darfur is secured.'”
“We are working tirelessly in New York to bring this to fruition,” Bolton told U.S. lawmakers.
(Washington File)