Security Council Says No Action Needed on Darfur
BY BENNY AVNI - Staff Reporter of the Sun
June 6, 2005
UNITED NATIONS - Secretary-General Annan briefed the Security Council yesterday on his recent trip to Africa, which was designed to highlight the suffering in Darfur. President Bush reminded the world this week that atrocities there amount to genocide, yet council members argued yesterday that no further action is needed.
Europeans and others members of the U.N. Security Council have been celebrating a political victory over the Bush administration, which agreed last month to send Sudan war-crime suspects to the International Criminal Court despite its aversion to the newly formed judicial body.
The French U.N. ambassador, Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, who yesterday assumed the council's rotating presidency, said that ICC representatives are scheduled to brief the council on June 29 about their preparations for prosecutions of Darfur war-crime suspects. Beyond the ICC court proceedings, which would be the first of their kind, there is no reason for the council to do more, Mr. de la Sabliere told The New York Sun.
Mr. Annan, however, said more needs to be done to back African Union troops. We need to make a secure environment, so people can go back and secure their lives, he told the Sun. He spoke of 2.5 million non-Arab villagers who have been driven out of their homes in Darfur by Khartoum-backed militias. The African Union may wish to consider expanding the mandate as well, he said.
Currently, the union has 2,000 troops in the Darfur region, which is roughly the size of Texas. Mr. Annan said the union might want to expand the force to at least 8,000 troops. Its observation mandate might need tweaking as well, to allow troops to enforce safe zones in villages and to allow the return of refugees now at camps near the Chad border, where they have found temporary yet unsafe shelter.
The African Union, however, insists on negotiating any troop redeployment or mandate change with the Sudanese government, which has been accused by the Bush administration and others of creating the current situation.
After being criticized for a failure to take a lead on Darfur, Mr. Bush has raised his rhetoric in recent days. Yesterday, he discussed the situation with Prime Minister Martin of Canada. On Wednesday, he met at the White House with President Mbeki of South Africa. This is a serious situation, Mr. Bush said. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, with my concurrence, declared the situation a genocide.
Mr. Annan, for his part, chaired a conference in Addis Ababa last weekend, at which $300 million was raised for strengthening the African Union force in Darfur. He has stuck, however, with the findings of a recent U.N. mission determining that while atrocities were committed in Darfur, they have not amounted to genocide.
For better or worse, the African Union has taken a leading role. We have not asked for anybody outside of the African continent to deploy troops in Darfur, Mr. Mbeki said at a White House meeting with Mr. Bush. It's an African responsibility, and we can do it. Logistics and guidance are being supplied by Europe and America. Now we are assured they'll provide everything from the helmets to the boots, President Obasanjo of Nigeria told Newsweek yesterday.
A change of mandate for the troops, as well as further measures such as instituting a no-fly zone over Darfur or sanctions against the Khartoum government, can only be pressed by the council. According to a convention signed by all council members, as well as Sudan, any time genocide is determined, signatories are obliged to take action to stop it. For now, America is the only voice invoking that convention, allowing some on the council to say, as Mr. de la Sabliere did yesterday, the council has done enough.