The UN's handling of Darfur

After all the hand-wringing over Rwanda, doesn't look like Moon is any better than Kofi...

New Secretary-General, But U.N. Still Can't Make Progress In Darfur
March 6, 2007 - In what has become all-too common, the United Nations has issued another statement condemning the violence in the Darfur region of Sudan.

South African Ambassador to the U.N., Dumisani Kumalo, who's nation holds the Security Council's rotating presidency, says, "Every member who spoke is concerned about the humanitarian situation in Sudan," adding that closed-door talks have produced "results." The U.N. Security Council met in New York, where its envoy Jan Eliasson, former U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator, briefed the top nations on a joint mission he took to the region with Salim Ahmed Salim of the African Union (AU).

Eliasson says, "We have met with understanding on pushing this process forward. The Government has indicated a willingness to have negotiated amendments to the DPA and is not taking a 'take it or leave it attitude;' on the other hand they don't want a renegotiation of the DPA." "This is a political process but we also expect results now from the parties to prove their political will. If they say there's no military solution, if they say that they want to go on with a political process they have to prove this point by first of all reducing the level of violence, in fact achieve a cessation of hostilities. And the second point is that they have to improve the security and humanitarian situation on the ground."

According to the U.N. there have been no bombings since Eliasson and Salim left Sudan in mid-February. The envoy notes, "We made it very clear that continued bombardments would not be consistent with the political process." "The fighting goes on in a different aspect though, which I find very disturbing, and that is there is a growing tribal warfare which has little to do - if anything - with the Government and the signatories and more to do with the differences between different tribes in Darfur. That is a growing problem."

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Darfur 'was worst abuse of 2006'
Tuesday, 6 March 2007, The violence ravaging Darfur was the world's worst human rights abuse in 2006, the US says in an annual report.

In its annual human rights assessment, the US also flagged up a decline in government accountability in Russia and a deteriorating situation in China. Violence in Iraq and Afghanistan was said to be hampering rights advances. The report also looked inwards, acknowledging questions over some US anti-terror actions since 9/11.

The survey, conducted by the US state department, called what it and human rights groups consider genocide in Darfur the "most sobering reality" of last year. "The Sudanese government and government-backed Janjaweed militia bear responsibility for the genocide in Darfur, and all parties to the conflagration committed serious abuses," it said.

These abuses, it said, included killing of civilians, the use of rape as a tool of war and systematic torture. Some 200,000 people have died in the four-year conflict in Darfur. The UN last year passed a resolution imposing sanctions on Sudanese nationals accused of war crimes, but has stopped short of calling the conflict genocide.

NGOs targeted

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Well, at least they're talking...

US Ambassador Expects UN Darfur Resolution This Week
29 July 2007 - Washington's envoy to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, says he expects the world body to agree this week on a resolution to send a combined U.N.-African Union force to the war-torn Sudanese region of Darfur.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, says the crisis in Darfur, a large province in western Sudan, is a high priority for the Bush administration. "One of the highest. And I went to Sudan myself, with the members of the Security Council to demonstrate how important this was for us," he said.For four years, pro-government Arab janjaweed militias have been battling ethnic African rebels in Darfur. The janjaweed are accused of terrorizing villagers and committing atrocities including murder and rape. More than 200-thousand people have died in the conflict. More than two million others have been driven from their homes.

The Security Council has been working on a draft resolution to authorize an international peacekeeping force for Darfur that would bolster seven thousand African Union monitors who are already there but have been unable to stem the violence. The U.N. and the African Union would supply a total of 26-thousand troops, a plan the government of Sudan has said it will accept. Speaking on CNN's Late Edition program, Khalilzad said Security Council members are nearing consensus on a U.N. resolution. I believe that we are very close. I expect that we will get an agreement this week," he said.

President Bush has labeled the fighting in Darfur genocide. Since November, the United States and other western countries have been pressing Sudan to accept an expanded international force in Darfur. Recently, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice criticized Khartoum for what she said were stalling tactics holding up deployment of the hybrid force. One of Khartoum's main defenders is China, which has veto power in the Security Council and is Sudan's largest foreign investor. Beijing has opposed harsh economic sanctions, but earlier this year helped persuade Sudan to accept U.N. peacekeepers.

On Friday, though, China again called for patience on the Darfur issue. Beijing's special envoy for Darfur, Liu Guijin, told the official China Daily newspaper that coercion, in his words, "will lead us nowhere." He added that other parties must, also in his words, "learn to deal with the Sudanese government" as a "legitimate government that deserves respect." Beijing next month celebrates the one-year countdown to its hosting of the Olympic Games. Foreign activists have warned they will call the international sporting event the "genocide games" unless China uses more leverage to help bring peace to Darfur.

VOA News - US Ambassador Expects UN Darfur Resolution This Week

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Sudan to accept UN troops...

Sudan Accepts Darfur Resolution, Rebels Have Their Doubts
01 August 2007 - Sudan's government says it will abide by a Security Council resolution that paves the way for the United Nations and the African Union to deploy 26,000 peacekeepers to the region.

The Security Council resolution is the latest effort to bring peace to Sudan's Darfur region, where officials estimate that more than 200,000 people have been killed in four years of fighting. Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol announced his government's formal acceptance of Security Council resolution 1769. The final version is significantly watered down because, for one, it does not threaten sanctions if Sudan refuses to comply.

The main Darfur rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Movement, says it is encouraged by the tough language in the resolution. But SLM spokesman Yahia Bolad says his group will reserve final judgment until it sees whether the peacekeepers are able to enforce the agreement. Bolad tells VOA that another major concern is that much of the land abandoned by civilians in Darfur has been occupied by Arabs backed by the Sudanese government. He says the Sudan Liberation Movement will start thinking about a strong political agreement for Darfur only when attacks cease and the issue of resettlement has been solved.

"We want to see our people to be protected, we want to see aerial bombardment to stop, after that we can look for the political process, and we know that the political process at the end of the day is the way to solve these problems," he said. Those comments suggest that the Sudan Liberation Movement is still determined to boycott talks set for later this week in Arusha, Tanzania on laying the groundwork for a new peace process in Darfur. Earlier, Sudan Liberation Movement leader Abdelwahid al-Nur told the English language Sudan Tribune that he would not attend the talks unless the violence in Darfur stops.

More VOA News - Sudan Accepts Darfur Resolution, Rebels Have Their Doubts

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All-African peacekeepers...

All African peace force for Darfur
August 13, 2007 -- Head of African Union outlines make-up of new peacekeeping force in Sudan; Alpha Oumar Konare says African countries have committed enough soldiers; Sudanese government adamantly opposed to non-Africans playing major role; Force will be made up of 20,000 peacekeepers and 6,000 civilian police

The head of the African Union said Sunday that non-African troops would not be needed for the new Darfur peacekeeping force in Sudan because countries on the continent had committed enough soldiers. The Sudanese government is adamantly opposed to non-Africans playing any major role in the hybrid U.N.-African Union operation that was authorized by the U.N. Security Council on July 31 and will be made up of 20,000 peacekeepers and 6,000 civilian police.

The comments from AU chairman Alpha Oumar Konare appeared to contradict statements made by the U.S. envoy to Sudan, Andrew Natsios, that the government in Khartoum would have to accept non-African troops in the beefed-up force because the continent does not have enough trained soldiers to fully staff the peacekeeping contingent. "I can confirm today that we have received sufficient commitments from African countries that we will not have to resort to non-African forces," Konare said following a brief meeting with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum.

Konare later told The Associated Press that outside forces would only be needed if African countries did not follow through with their commitments. "Non-African forces would be needed only in case the African countries would not be in a position to provide the number of troops agreed-upon," he said. Konare said representatives from the AU and the U.N. would meet in New York in September to discuss the hybrid force.

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'No need for non-African troops' for Darfur
August 14, 2007 -- Pledges of 11,000-12,000 troops for peacekeeping in Darfur have been made; The goal of the joint U.N.-African Union mission is to end four years of violence; Darfur rebels say the AU troops currently there haven't been effective; U.N. officials say Western nations need to contribute logistics and air support

African nations have confirmed pledges of 11,000-12,000 troops for Darfur's joint U.N.-African Union mission so far, the state-owned Sudanese Media Centre quoted Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations as saying. On Sunday, AU Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare said Africans had pledged enough troops and there was no need for infantry from non-African countries, comments which angered Darfur rebels who say AU troops currently in Darfur have been unable to stem the violence.

"African pledges to participate (in the force) have reached 13-14 battalions, which is equivalent to 11,000-12,000 troops," SMC quoted Ambassador Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad as saying. A senior U.N. peacekeeping official earlier this month said mostly African nations had pledged infantry but key logistics and air support was lacking.

Analysts say much of this support needs to come from Western nations, which have yet to give any firm pledges of military personnel. The U.N. Security Council last month authorized up to 19,555 military personnel and 6,432 civilian police, which would be the world's largest peacekeeping force.

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More talk, while the genocide continues...

UN Secretary-General Says Failure in Darfur Not an Option
09 September 2007: U.N. Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon says failure to achieve peace in Sudan's conflict-ridden province of Darfur in not an option.

U.N. Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon calls the situation in Darfur one of the most pressing issues in the world today. That is why, he says, he has made a political settlement to end the four-year old conflict his number one priority. The secretary-general has just completed a week long visit to Sudan, Chad and Libya to discuss his peace agenda for Darfur with leaders of all three countries. He tells VOA the trip to visit this area was a good decision.

"I am optimistic. But, I would not call it a success. I would call it credible progress," Mr. ban said. "We must build upon this progress until we are able to claim that it was a great success bringing peace and security to Darfur…. I do not like to discuss nor think of any failure of this. We are working for the success of this political negotiation. We must succeed."

Ban says his resolve to end the war in Darfur was strengthened after he visited a camp for internally displaced people. He says he was shocked and humbled by the misery, poverty and desperation he saw. About 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million have been forced to flee their homes since war broke out in 2003 between Sudanese-backed Janjaweed militia and African rebel groups.

More VOA News - UN Secretary-General Says Failure in Darfur Not an Option

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Sudan Ready for Truce with Darfur Rebels
14 September 2007: Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir said Friday his government is ready to announce a cease-fire with rebel forces. During a visit to Rome, al-Bashir said the truce will coincide with the start of peace talks over the conflict in Darfur.

The President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, is on a three-day visit to Italy with a large delegation, holding meetings with top Italian leaders and Pope Benedict XVI. He arrived Thursday afternoon, and his first official meeting was with the Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

Following early morning talks Friday with Mr. Prodi, the two leaders held a joint press conference. Mr. al-Bashir announced his government is ready for a truce with Darfur rebels to coincide with the start of peace talks over the conflict. Talks are scheduled to begin October 27 in Libya.

The Sudanese president also said that he asked Mr. Prodi to push European countries to pressure rebel leaders to take part in the Libyan talks. He also said that he hopes the negotiations in Tripoli will bring peace. The Italian prime minister praised Mr. Bashir's offer of a cease-fire, saying it is a strong signal.

More VOA News - Sudan Ready for Truce with Darfur Rebels

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Will Darfur Trigger A 2008 Olympic Boycott?
10 September 2007 - Despite recent signs of progress in achieving peace and security in Sudan’s Darfur region, US human rights coalitions continue to draw up plans for a possible boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The groups want China to reduce commercial and political ties with Khartoum, whom they accuse of aiding Janjaweed militias in attacks against Darfur villagers and rebel groups.

Historian Dr. Susan Bachrach is curator of the Nazi 1936 Olympics exhibition at the US Holocaust Museum, which focused on unsuccessful efforts to stage an American boycott in the years leading up to the Berlin Olympics, prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. She notes that shortly before the Berlin games, the vote to keep athletes at home ultimately failed to pass America’s 1936 Olympics governing body, the International Amateur Athletics Union, by a close margin, but says it was an act of conscience that had a symbolic impact on Germany’s staging of the games.

“When Hitler came to power in 1933, there were anti-Nazi groups that formed in the United States that were appalled at the Nazi regimes attacks on trade unions and members of left-wing parties, not only of Jews, but also of Catholics. So it was building an opposition to the conduct that had already been quite evident – the kind of persecution and repression that immediately happened after 1933 in the assumption of power by the Nazis,” she said.

Bachrach says it is hard to draw conclusions about staging a modern-day Olympics boycott from the 1936 experience, but examining the parallels does increase an understanding of the behavior exhibited by an Olympic host country in the face of a boycott threat.

More VOA News - Will Darfur Trigger A 2008 Olympic Boycott?

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More misery in Darfur, Granny says, UN don't know what its doin'...

Sudan Military Bombs West Darfur Towns
Feb 8, `08: The Sudanese military said it bombed three towns in West Darfur while striking at rebel forces Friday as senior U.N. officials warned that security was deteriorating dramatically in Sudan's vast western region.

The U.N. officials told the Security Council that intensified fighting has worsened the plight of civilians and is hurting chances for a political settlement in the five-year conflict. Darfur rebels denied any of their fighters were in the towns attacked by the government and said some 200 people were killed. They said helicopter gunships and fixed-wing aircraft battered Sirba, Sileia and Abu Suruj, setting buildings on fire and causing thousands to flee.

"The government attacked using aircraft bombardment, troops and janjaweed (Arab militiamen)," said Abdelaziz Ushar, a senior commander with the rebel Justice and Equality Movement. Sudan's Arab-dominated government has been accused of unleashing janjaweed forces to commit atrocities against Darfur's ethnic African communities in the fight with rebel groups. At least 200,000 people have been killed and 2.2 million displaced since the fighting began five years ago.

The Sudanese army said its attacks forced rebels to retreat into neighboring Chad, a provocative accusation at a time of escalating tension between the two countries. Both nations accuse each other of hosting hostile rebel groups, allegations that became even more sensitive after Chadian rebels attacked Chad's capital last weekend. Sudan's "armed forces were able to repulse rebels from the Darfur rebel movements who have retreated into Chadian territories, leaving behind a huge number of dead, wounded and equipment that is currently being counted," the army spokesman, Brig. Osman Mohamed al-Aghbash, said in a statement carried by the country's official news agency.

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UN Envoy Calls for Cessation of Hostilities in Darfur
08 February 2008 - The U.N. special envoy for Darfur has told the Security Council that there must be an immediate cessation of hostilities in order to create an environment conducive to peace talks. But as Jan Eliasson made his appeal Friday, reports came in from the region of Sudanese troops backed by Arab militias attacking villages in West Darfur.

Jan Eliasson told the Council that, now more than ever, there is an urgent need to demand that the parties in Sudan stop fighting. "I just received this minute, reports from field about attacks on the villages by the Sudanese army entities and militia groups. These reports are not yet detailed and confirmed, but it seems like hundreds of people may have been killed in these attacks and they continue at this moment. You have a dramatic reminder at this meeting that there is a clear need, urgently, to demand of the parties an immediate cessation of hostilities," said Eliasson.

Friday's violence added to Eliasson's concerns about the recent deterioration in the security and humanitarian situations in Darfur, most recently because of events in neighboring Chad, where rebels have been trying to violently overthrow the government. Eliasson stressed that substantive peace talks between the government and rebel groups could not work unless the escalation of violence is reversed. He said, to demonstrate their commitment to the political process, the parties in Sudan should unilaterally declare and respect a cessation of hostilities. The United Nations has been working to deploy a force of African Union and U.N. peacekeepers to Darfur, but it has been hampered by the lack of troop contributions and equipment, specifically helicopters.

U.N. Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, told the Security Council that the peacekeepers - known as UNAMID - are severely under-resourced and insufficient to provide protection for Darfur's civilians in the current hostile environment. UNAMID is in urgent need of 24 helicopters to ferry troops around Darfur, a region nearly the size of France. Bangladesh and Ethiopia have offered to help meet that shortfall, but Guéhenno told reporters that the helicopters from Bangladesh do not meet technical requirements. The Ethiopian offer is still under review.

VOA News - UN Envoy Calls for Cessation of Hostilities in Darfur

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Genocide being underreported?...

Is Death Estimate For Darfur Too Low?
Mar. 28, 2008 : Ex-UN Humanitarian Chief Says His Estimate Of 200,000 Deaths In Darfur Is Far Too Low

How many people have died in Darfur? Two years ago, the United Nations estimated 200,000. But the man who gave that figure now says it's far too low. Sudan has long said it's way too high. A new mortality survey might settle the question, but the U.N. has no plans for one _ it is too busy trying to help the living. Activist groups say Sudan's government doesn't want one.

Former U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland told The Associated Press he has no doubt that tens of thousands more people have died since he made the 200,000 estimate in 2006. He cited a dramatic increase in the number of people affected by the conflict and a surge in fighting. But Egeland, now a special adviser to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said only a large-scale mortality survey and access to areas where aid workers are unable to reach could provide an accurate death figure for the 5-year-old conflict.

Aid workers long have been prevented from reaching parts of Darfur because of Sudanese government obstruction and the unrelenting violence between ethnic African rebels and the janjaweed militias that support the Arab-dominated regime in Khartoum. Sudan's government strongly disputes the figure of 200,000 deaths, contending the toll is a tiny fraction of that _ less than 10,000.

Aid workers say Sudan's figure probably reflects people killed by bullets, but doesn't take into account all those who have died from hunger or disease tied to the upheaval of the conflict. The last official, independent mortality survey for Darfur was released in March 2005 based on data collected from 8,844 displaced people living in camps by a team from the World Health Organization. It estimated 10,000 people had died among the refugees each month between the end of 2003 and October 2004 _ mostly of malnutrition and disease.

Egeland said when he was interviewed at the end of 2005, "I just added the 10,000 we found that died per month in 2004. ... I said well it's 18 months, it's 180,000." A few months later he raised it to 200,000. "Then, the clock stopped ticking, sort of," he said in the AP interview earlier this month. "You have the figure 200,000 people died in Darfur which has been used continuously since I gave it," Egeland added. "Please stop using that figure. I gave it. It's two and half years old. It's wrong."

More Is Death Estimate For Darfur Too Low?, Ex-UN Humanitarian Chief Says His Estimate Of 200,000 Deaths In Darfur Is Far Too Low - CBS News

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A fortuitous development?...

Plane Crash In Sudan Kills Defense Minister, 22 Others
May 2, 2008 - A plane crash in southern Sudan Friday killed 24 passengers and crew, including the country's defense minister.

The Beachcraft 1900 operated by South Sudan Air Connection crashed some 220 miles (375 kilometers) west of Juba, capital of the semi-autonomous region in the south.

Southern Minister of Defense Dominic Dim and people who attended the Sudan People's Liberation Movement conference were aboard the plane returning to Juba. Investigation of the crash is ongoing.

Presstv.ir quoted Deputy Prime Minister Riek Mashar as saying that an attack was ruled out as the cause of the crash.

Plane Crash In Sudan Kills Defense Minister, 22 Others | May 3, 2008 | AHN

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Sudan takin' a turn for the worse...

Sudan "on brink" of north-south war - southern official
Mon May 26, 2008 : Sudan is on the brink of a new civil war following more than a week of north-south clashes in the disputed oil-rich town of Abyei, a senior southern official said on Monday.

Pagan Amum, secretary general of the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), told reporters northern troops were building up around the remote central town, with southern troops likely to follow. Amum said the way to avoid a full-scale conflict was for all troops to leave the town, to be replaced by a U.N. peacekeeping force or, eventually, joint north-south military units. "We are on the brink of war as we speak. Clashes have already happened and forces are building up," he said before a news conference in Khartoum.

Sudan has witnessed sporadic, sometimes fierce fighting in recent weeks in the Abyei region, which is claimed by both Khartoum and the southern government. Some 21 northern Sudanese army soldiers and an unknown number of southerners were killed last week in fighting that followed a week of skirmishes sparked by a local dispute. The clashes have displaced tens of thousands of people.

A two-decade-long civil war fought by Sudan's government and southern rebels and complicated by issues of ethnicity, ideology and oil ended with a 2005 peace deal and a coalition government formed by the SPLM and the northern National Congress Party (NCP). But ties have been strained by the failure to agree on borders or a local government for Abyei. At stake are a nearby oil pipeline and installations that produce around half of Sudan's daily output of 500,000 barrels of oil, and grazing grounds and territory coveted by northerners and southerners.

More Sudan "on brink" of north-south war - southern official | International | Reuters

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Darfur rebels threaten Khartoum as peace hopes fade
Mon May 26, 2008 - A Darfur rebel group threatened on Monday to launch new attacks on Khartoum and central Sudan, amid fears that the region's peace process was unravelling.

The threat from the Sudan Liberation Movement's Unity (SLM-Unity) faction came weeks after Darfur insurgents the Justice and Equality Movement raided Sudan's capital. It was unclear whether the SLM-Unity had the military strength to launch a similar assault. But the aggressive tone of Monday's announcement was seen as a significant setback as SLM-Unity was one of a small group of rebel factions who had earlier agreed to take part in peace talks with Sudan's government.

"The movement (has) decided ... to turn all its military operations against the central Sudan," Mahgoub Hussein, a SLM-Unity spokesman told Reuters in an email exchange. "The Movement will work with all revolutionary forces in Darfur to storm the Khartoum regime and overthrow (Sudan's president Omar Hassan) al-Bashir, and we call on al-Bashir to leave Sudan."

Hussein also threatened reprisals against security forces he said had rounded up and killed Darfuris after the attack by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). The government denies it is targeting Darfuris in its investigations into the May 10 raid. Hussein added SLM-Unity would now only take part in negotiations if JEM was also invited and said only the United Nations should chair the talks, rejecting the current African Union involvement. Khartoum said it would never negotiate with JEM after the attack.

BOYCOTT

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EU gettin' tough with Sudan...

Diplomats: EU To Threaten Sudan With Sanctions
Jun. 20, 2008 - Diplomats: EU Leaders To Threaten Sudan With Sanctions Over Darfur

Diplomats say EU leaders will threaten Sudan with sanctions if it does not cooperate fully with the United Nations and the International Criminal Court in handing over officials wanted for war crimes in Darfur.

A draft copy of a declaration obtained by The Associated Press to be issued at summit talks Friday says the 27 European leaders remain "deeply concerned" over Sudan's lack of cooperation with the court.

Diplomats say the leaders will call on their foreign ministers to consider freezing Sudanese assets and placing a travel ban on certain Sudanese officials if Khartoum fails to cooperate. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

Diplomats: EU To Threaten Sudan With Sanctions, Diplomats: EU Leaders To Threaten Sudan With Sanctions Over Darfur - CBS News