Deploy UN troops in Chad to deter atrocities in Darfur – Aegis

September 11, 2006 — In a briefing issued this morning, the Aegis Trust calls for the UN to prepare a rapid reaction force for deployment in Chad to deter major attacks on civilians in the event that the 30 September deadline for the African Union mission to withdral is reached without Sudanese agreement on transition to a UN peacekeeping force. In May, Chad indicated that it would welcome the deployment of UN forces in its eastern border region to prevent the spread of instability from Darfur.

“The genocidal threat in Darfur is so imminent that if there is no Plan B for Darfur now, all out genocide is highly likely to take place,” says Dr James Smith, Chief Executive of the Aegis Trust. “A rapid reaction force needs to be hours, not months away from potential victims.”

To read the three-page briefing in full, visit the following URL:

www.aegistrust.org/images/stories/aegis_darfur_briefing_7_september_2006.pdf

EU ministers must back African Union

Aegis is pressing EU foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels on 15 September, to assure their AU counterparts that AMIS will receive all necessary logistics, intelligence support, transport assets including helicopters, and long term funding to fulfil their role until a UN force is deployed.

On 18 September, the AU will meet to decide whether to extend the mandate of its mission in Darfur beyond 30 September. The AU has previously said it would end the mandate on the 30th unless transfer to a UN force was been agreed by then, in which case it would stay for several more months to allow a smooth transition.

However, Sudan rejected UN Resolution 1706, which authorised a UN peacekeeping force for Darfur on condition of Sudanese acceptance, and has ordered the AU to leave by 30 September unless it drops its support for transfer to the UN.

Day for Darfur

Sunday 17 September will see a global ‘Day for Darfur’ marked by thousands of people in dozens of capitals, calling on Sudan to accept UN peacekeepers in Darfur and calling on their governments to ensure that Darfur receives international protection. The coalition of organizations promoting the Day includes the Aegis Trust, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Save Darfur. Organisers are calling on people everywhere to wear ‘blue hats’ as a mark of their support for protection in Darfur (UN peacekeepers wear blue berets or blue helmets).

Events in London will include a demonstration outside the Sudanese Embassy at 11am followed by a march to Whitehall after 12 noon. An exhibition about the Darfur crisis will be opened by survivors from the Holocaust, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur at the Old Vic Theatre, 1pm.

For more information, visit www.dayfordarfur.org

For more information, contact Media Officer David Brown, mobile: +44(0)7812 640873, office: +44 (0)1623 836627, email: [email protected]