Canada could send peacekeeping force to Sudan

OTTAWA, Canada, March 13, 2004 (Sudan Tribune) — Canadian troops could be headed to Sudan as the United Nations prepares for a peacekeeping operation this year to the African country plagued by decades of civil war, the Canadian daily National Post reported.

Department of National Defence officials have told the federal government that international pressure will be on Canada to contribute soldiers to the mission, especially since it is expected to involve the UN’s Multinational Standby High Readiness Brigade (SHIRBRIG), a rapid-deployment force Canada helped set up in the late 1990s.

Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Ray Henault and Deputy Minister Margaret Bloodworth informed then defence minister John McCallum the nations involved in the UN high readiness brigade can expect a request to contribute to the Sudan mission in the coming months.

The operation has still not received final approval, but that is expected to take place this year. SHIRBRIG officials have identified the mission to Sudan as a key goal and the brigade’s planners have already worked with the UN on initial preparations.

Darren Gibb, spokesman for Defence Minister David Pratt, said Canadian military planners normally assigned to SHIRBRIG headquarters are involved in contingency planning. But he added no decision has been made on whether Canada will take part.

“It’s really too early to give details on the nature of our possible participation,” Mr. Gibb said. “In terms of what we could contribute or would contribute to the larger force, we’re not in a position to make that pronouncement now.”

But the potential deployment to the Sudan couldn’t come at a worse time, say defence analysts. For the last several years, defence ministers have acknowledged the Canadian Forces are stretched to the limit. That, however, didn’t stop the government from committing troops to Afghanistan and, more recently, Haiti.

Defence analyst Martin Shadwick said to the National Post the federal government will find it extremely difficult to avoid taking part in a Sudan mission, especially because of Canada’s extensive efforts in the 1990s to help set up the UN rapid deployment force. “Passing on a SHIRBRIG operation would be pretty embarrassing,” said Mr. Shadwick, who teaches strategic studies at York University.

The Sudan has been plagued by civil war almost continuously since its independence in 1956. But peace negotiations between the warring sides are expected to produce some kind of agreement that would allow a UN mission.

The November briefing note states that SHIRBRIG nations including Canada, Austria, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and Italy are actively supporting current diplomatic, developmental and other efforts in the Sudan.

“As a result there is great political will among the SHIRBRIG nations to contribute to a UN mission in Sudan even though these same nations are also heavily committed to missions in other countries including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq,” it adds.