A key moment for Darfur
By Philippe Douste-Blazy, Le Figaro
November 20, 2006 — Darfur: 250,000 people killed, two and a half million people – one-third of the population – displaced, either in the country or in neighbouring Chad, as refugees. As the president told the UN General Assembly on september 19th: “a crime against humanity is in the offing.” In view of the mounting political and geostrategic threats, I decided to visit this region of key importance to world stability, midway between the Arab world and the African world.
The situation is terrible. It is particularly so since, alongside the United Nations, countries of goodwill and NGOs have continued to mobilize. France has paid, both bilaterally and multilaterally, 76 million euros to the civilian population of Darfur. No fewer than 13 UN agencies, 84 NGOs, and 14,000 humanitarian workers are doing an extraordinary job every day on the ground, under difficult security conditions. I pay tribute to the courage of these men and women with whom I met at El Fasher and Koutoum camp.
Confronted with this real horror, we must all, each in our own way, strengthen our action. As for France, it cannot decide simply to watch. Nothing could be worse than to suggest that the compassionate force of words and the media force of images are enough to counter the violence. This is not my view of foreign policy, nor my idea of France’s role and voice in the world.
In Egypt and then Sudan, I wanted to meet with those who are willing to help us in seeking a lasting solution. This visit provided the opportunity for in-depth conversations, first in Cairo with President Mubarak, and then in Sudan where I met with President al-Bashir and my opposite number, but also with representatives of the United Nations, the African Union, and the NGOs.
All the indications now are that we are at a key moment. For the first time since February 2003, the Sudanese Government is no longer ruling out the possibility of receiving an international force on its territory. I would point out that Security Council Resolution 1706 authorized the deployment of a UN force, but the Sudanese authorities’ continuing refusal necessitated the quest for a formula that could be implemented immediately on the ground. This is why I proposed, in Khartoum on november 12th, an intermediate solution that would make it possible to strengthen the effectiveness of AMIS’ – the African Union force – action in Sudanese territory, while respecting this country’s sovereignty.
AMIS, which is under-equipped, is not in a position to perform a mission that is intended to cover an area equivalent to that of France. AMIS’ reinforcement by UN logistics would constitute a major improvement in the troops’ effectiveness and therefore in the protection of the civilian population.
Of course Khartoum has its sovereignty, but it must be responsible and respond positively to this idea of a joint force. At the same time, in order to remedy the humanitarian disaster, international aid must continue and its supply must be facilitated. On november 16th, the Addis Ababa meeting, organized under [UN Secretary-General] Kofi Annan’s auspices, and at which France was represented, was able to start defining the outlines of such action by the international community.
Another risk lies in the spread, which has already begun, of the conflict in Chad and the Central African Republic. Sudan cannot fail to fear a destabilization along its borders. I stressed this to President al-Bashir: security must now be strengthened in Darfur, but also along the borders between Sudan and these two French-speaking African countries.
France is counting on the Sudanese authorities’ capacity to accept, along that country’s borders, an international presence that can help to restore stability in the area. Such a presence is crucial if we want to prevent violence from spreading and gradually reaching neighbouring countries. This is why we are involved, through our military presence in the region, in providing a reliable environment capable of facilitating the deployment of this mission.
Sudan’s collapse would be a disaster, not only for Africa but also for the rest of the world. Neither France nor the international community wants Darfur’s secession or the dismantling of the Sudanese administration. Our sole objective is a political solution of the crisis and regional stability. This depends first and foremost on an extension of the Abuja political agreement to the maximum numbers of signatories. For its part, France is willing to mobilize to facilitate further talks.
More than ever, everyone bears a share of responsibility in connection with the Darfur crisis. It is not a matter of imposing a plan determined elsewhere, but of achieving, through dialogue, a responsible solution in everyone’s interest. This is what France, under the president’s encouragement, has always wanted. It is on this condition that we can make progress along the path to peace, which is, first and foremost, for the suffering civilian population, the promise of recovering a dignity and security that have been forgotten about for too long.
*The author is the French Foreign Minister