Security Council set to vote on new Darfur resolution
Aug 31, 2006 (UNITED NATIONS) — The UN Security Council is set to vote on deploying 17,000-strong peacekeeping force seen as crucial to the success of a fragile peace agreement holding in Sudan’s Darfur region.
There was also expectation of Khartoum’s consent, since the draft resolution
specifically states that the force would be deployed “on the basis of the acceptance of the (Sudanese) government.”
The draft calls for a 17,000-strong UN force to take over from the ill-equipped and underfunded African Union (AU) mission, which has been unable to prevent killings, rape and the internal displacement of civilians in Darfur.
Deploying UN peacekeepers is seen as crucial to the success of a fragile Darfur peace agreement signed by the Khartoum government and the main rebel faction in May.
In a bid to sway the Khartoum government, which strenuously opposed a strong UN presence in Darfur, the text reaffirms the council’s “strong commitment to the sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity of Sudan, which would be unaffected by transition to a United Nations operation in Darfur.”
It also expresses the council’s “determination to work with the government of Sudan in full respect of its sovereignty, to assist in tackling the various problems confronting Sudan” and points out that the proposed UN force “shall have, to the extent possible, a strong African participation and character.”
Asked by reporters whether China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the council which has close energy ties with Khartoum, might not vote against the draft, Bolton said the co-sponsors had tried “to take their concerns into account without in any way undermining the effectiveness of the peacekeeping force.”
A diplomat close to the consultations said the Chinese and Russians were now showing new flexibility and efforts were continuing to bring them onboard.
“There is no indication that anyone will vote against,” the diplomat said. “China most likely will abstain. Russia is a borderline case.”
Ghana’s UN Ambassador Nana Effah-Apenteng, the council president for August, stressed that adopting the resolution would not mean “shutting the door to negotiations” with Khartoum.
He said bilateral and multilateral channels would continue to be used to win over the Sudanese government.
Effah-Apenteng said charges that the UN would infringe on Sudanese sovereignty did not make sense since a UN mission was already operating in Sudan with Khartoum’s consent.
The draft said the Darfur mission would be carried by expanding the mandate of the 12,273-strong United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) currently operating in the vast African country, and urged “member states to provide the capability for an expeditious deployment.”
UNMIS was created in March 2005 to help maintain the tenuous peace between Sudan’s government and former southern rebels who in January of that year signed a peace agreement after 21 years of civil war. Its role was also to liaise with AU forces working in Darfur.
The US-British text calls for raising UNMIS strength to up to 17,300 troops and up to 3,300 civilian police to monitor implementation of the Darfur peace deal, deploy to buffer zones and refugee camps, and work with Sudanese authorities in rebuilding shattered institutions.
Alluding to Tuesday’s talks in Khartoum between Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir and US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer, Bolton said changes were incorporated in the draft as a result of those discussions.
Beshir apparently rebuffed a plea from Frazer to allow a UN force into Darfur. However, the State Department said Beshir would send an envoy to Washington in the near future.
Acting under Chapter Seven of the UN charter, which authorizes military action in cases of threats to international peace and security, the UN force would be mandated to use all necessary means to protect UN personnel, humanitarian workers and Darfur civilians.
(ST/AFP)