Dispute on who is boss delays new Darfur force
June 1, 2007 (UNITED NATIONS) — A dispute over who is to command the proposed 23,000-strong international peacekeeping force for Darfur is holding up any deployment in the violence-torn Sudanese region, U.N. officials said on Friday.
Despite pressure for Sudan to accept the United Nations-African Union “hybrid” operation, a key African Union body, the Peace and Security Committee, has not approved the 40 pages of plans sent to it by the United Nations.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon played down the differences but some Security Council diplomats and U.N. officials said they were serious but solvable.
“It was unfortunate that the African Union has come back with some changes after the Security Council has adopted and issued a presidential statement,” Ban told reporters.
“I am convinced that we will be able to find common understandings and agreements on this matter as soon as possible,” he said after briefing the Security Council.
At issue is who should lead and pay for the proposed expanding peacekeeping mission to bolster the 7,000 African Union troops on the ground. Khartoum has insisted the force be under African Union command but U.N. members pay for it.
While the United Nations has chosen African commanders, its proposal said more clarity was needed on command and control.
But the proposal also said U.N. control was required “given the Security Council’s primary responsibility for authorizing, and the U.N.’s direct responsibility for implementing the mandate.”
U.S. DISAPPOINTED
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told the council consultations he was disappointed at the changes proposed by the AU and that he wanted to make sure that essential elements were retained, according to U.S. officials at the meeting.
“So the longer this goes on, the longer Sudan can sit back,” one council diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has agreed in principle to a three-phase U.N. plan to strengthen the African troops. But he delayed for five months acceptance of plans for the second stage of 3,000 military and police personnel and has criticized the proposed 23,000-strong force as too large.
But the delay by the African Union, where Sudan has more influence than at the United Nations, means Khartoum has not yet been presented with formal plans for the large force.
Its consent is necessary before deployment as the United Nations, which already has problems finding enough troops, cannot shoot its way into Darfur, which is about the size of France.
Some 200,000 people are estimated to have died in Darfur and more than 2 million are forced to live in 153 camps that any new force will have trouble protecting.
The dispute also will probably mean a delay in the U.S.-British push for expanded sanctions in the Security Council, where Russia and South Africa have questioned the timing and China has opposed all further penalties.
The measures under consideration are an arms embargo over the entire country, the monitoring of flights at Sudanese airports and a total prohibition of military flights over Darfur. The two nations also seek to add names to the list of four individuals now subject to financial and travel bans.
(Reuters)