U.S. must create action plan to break the Deadlock on Darfur

August 31, 2006 (WASHINGTON) -– This morning at the United
Nations (UN) Security Council, a resolution authorizing the deployment
of peacekeepers to Darfur passed with a vote of 12 in favor, with China,
Russia and Qatar abstaining. This resolution, introduced two weeks ago
by the U.S. and the U.K., was altered in negotiations this week to
include a provision requiring the consent of the Sudanese government.
Africa Action, which has been calling for the deployment of UN
peacekeepers for more than two years, recognized the importance of this
step and expressed concern that the resolution will be rendered useless
without a diplomatic action plan that ensures Sudanese consent for a UN
intervention.

Marie Clarke Brill, Acting Co-Executive Director of Africa Action, said
today, “This resolution has laid the groundwork for sustained
international involvement in Darfur, and the deployment of peacekeepers
to the region. However, the caveat of necessitating Sudanese consent for
the deployment of UN peacekeepers gives empowers a genocidal regime to
hold hostage the international responsibility to protect. It is all the
more urgent for the U.S. to lead the rest of the international community
in diplomatic efforts to break the deadlock on Darfur and ensure the
rapid deployment of UN peacekeepers in Darfur.”

As humanitarian aid access has dropped to the lowest levels since the
beginning of the conflict, the Darfur region is poised for a continued
degeneration of security. Reports indicate that government forces are
massing thousands of troops in North Darfur, as part of a plan to quash
the activities of rebel non-signatories to the Darfur Peace Agreement.
While this has been cast by Khartoum as means of ensuring peace, the
people in that region are now facing the imminent prospect of full-blown
warfare.

With the African Union (AU) mandate set to expire at the end of
September, there is a pressing need for expedited action on the part of
the U.S. and other members of the international community to avoid an
approaching security vacuum. Jan Egeland, UN undersecretary-general for
humanitarian affairs, has warned of an impending “man-made catastrophe
of an unprecedented scale,” with a death toll potentially in the
hundreds of thousands.

Marie Clarke Brill went on to say, “Two years ago, the U.S. declared
that what was going on Darfur was genocide, thereby assuming the
responsibility to act to end the killing. In the period since, our
government’s actions have been insufficient to stop the genocide. Today,
the U.S. has set the stage for movement to protect the people of Darfur;
it cannot afford to falter now. Activists will continue to hold the U.S.
accountable to its responsibility to protect until the UN peacekeeping
operation is on the ground protecting civilians.”

Africa Action will hold a rally and civil disobedience in front of the
White House on September 9th, to observe the two-year anniversary of the
U.S. recognition of genocide in Darfur. This event, entitled “Two Years
Too Many: Break the Deadlock on Darfur,” will highlight the need for
high-level U.S. involvement to remove the obstacles to a UN peacekeeping
force in Darfur. A flyer is available here:
http://www.africaaction.org/docs/flyer4.pdf. Details about the rally,
and about a simultaneous event in Austin, TX, are available here:
http://africaaction.org/campaign_new/page.php?op=read&documentid=2058&type=20&issues=1024&campaigns=6

Africa Action’s Escalation Strategy for the Campaign to Stop Genocide in
Darfur is available here:
http://www.africaaction.org/campaign_new/docs/PumpingUpthePowertoProtect2.pdf