US needed to address participation in upcoming peace talks

Wednesday, October 24, 2007 (Washington, DC) – Today, Africa Action
marks United Nations (UN) Day with a call for the U.S. to redouble its
diplomatic efforts to secure the immediate deployment of a UN-led
peacekeeping force to protect the people of Darfur. Peace talks between
rebel leaders and the government of Sudan scheduled to begin this
Saturday in Libya are an important step toward the political
reconciliation that must accompany an effective peacekeeping operation.
However, the boycott by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and six
other rebel groups threatens to scuttle the negotiations. Without
sustained pressure on all parties by the U.S. and the international
community, negotiations will not achieve the honest participation of the
government and inclusion of multiple groups necessary to make progress.

Africa Action noted that it is unlikely that the international community
can bring all parties together in the next three days. “The government
of Sudan’s insistence on continuing demonstrates Khartoum’s presence in
the negotiation is only a public relations move,” Marie Clarke Brill,
Interim Executive Director of Africa Action, said today. “The
international community must learn the lesson from the May 2006
political agreement – you can’t rush peace. The U.S. must spearhead the
global response by working to bring together all parties while taking
leadership to ensure the rapid deployment of a UN peacekeeping
operation. Far from being mutually exclusive priorities, peacekeeping
and a political peace process must go hand-in-hand.”

Violence has escalated in recent weeks, with heavy casualties among
civilians and humanitarian workers following assaults on towns and
internally displaced person (IDP) camps in western and southern Darfur.
In light of the reality that it will take time for political
negotiations to achieve progress, Africa Action stressed the urgency of
implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1769, which calls for the
deployment of a UN-led peacekeeping operation, in spite of efforts by
the government of Sudan to delay this process or weaken the force’s
operational capacity and dilute its mandate to protect.

“The UN must act quickly and decisively to resolve the command and
control ambiguities regarding the UN/AU hybrid peacekeeping force,” said
Marie Clarke Brill. “The UN has the technical and logistical
capabilities necessary to integrate multinational UN and AU units into
an effective force. UN control of the mission will be crucial to gain
the trust of Darfurians. The U.S. must press all stakeholders to
overcome Khartoum’s duplicitous stall tactics and exert leadership in
the international community to get a UN-led force on the ground.”

Africa Action commented that many civilians in Darfur have grown
increasingly suspicious of current African Union peacekeepers as a
result of recent events, including the destruction of the southern
Darfur town of Haskanita by government forces. For peacekeepers to be
able to do their job effectively, the people of Darfur must feel
protected by these international forces and cooperate with them.

For more information, Africa Action’s Talking Points on How to Stop
Genocide in Darfur, updated in October, are available at:
http://www.africaaction.org/newsroom/docs/TPs0710.pdf