U.N. operation in Darfur short troops
By David R. Sands
December 19, 2007 
The Washington Times
Original Source: http://washingtontimes.com/article/20071219/FOREIGN/958384616/1003
The United Nations will have only a third of the troops it wants and just three of the 24 military helicopters it needs when it takes over the troubled peacekeeping mission in Sudan's Darfur region Jan. 1, a top U.N. peacekeeping official said.
Jane Holl Lute, U.N. assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, told The Washington Times on Monday that the government of Sudan continues to put obstacles in the way of the mission, but added that she hoped the 30,000-man mission could be fully deployed and equipped by September to deal with the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
If there is not clear support for this mission from the Sudanese government, it will not succeed, Mrs. Lute said.
We have struggled to get this mission up and running on the ground, she said.
The Bush administration has accused Khartoum of genocide in a brutal civil war with Darfur separatist groups that has killed an estimated 200,000 and driven more than 2 million people from their homes.
Under a U.N. Security Council resolution passed July 31, about 7,000 African Union troops now in Darfur will give way to a joint U.N.-AU peacekeeping force of about 20,000 African and non-African soldiers and another 10,000 civil police and U.N. civilian staffers.
But Mrs. Lute said that when the transfer takes place, the existing AU forces will be re-hatted as U.N. peacekeepers, and the mission will still be far short of the manpower and equipment — notably transport and military helicopters — needed to police the vast Darfur region.
Mrs. Lute, one of the highest-ranking Americans in the U.N. hierarchy, said U.N. planners never expected to have the full force in place by New Year's Day. She said the lion's share of the U.N. mission should be deployed by spring and she hoped to be at full strength by September.
We have made a lot of progress on logistics and personnel in preparing for the mission since July, she said, but, yes, we are disappointed that things have not moved faster.
The Sudanese government has balked at the inclusion of non-African troops in the U.N. force. But Mrs. Lute said the proposed troops, including military engineers from Scandinavian countries and reserve troops from Nepal, are critical to the Darfur deployment.
The human rights group Amnesty International this week accused Khartoum of playing games with the lives of the Darfuri people by throwing up logistical, legal and technical hurdles to the peacekeeping mission.
But the U.N. effort has also been hobbled by the reluctance of member states to make available helicopters for the Darfur mission, despite a direct plea from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The helicopters are seen as vital for troop transport and defensive maneuvers in the vast Darfur region.
The inability to enforce a cease-fire between the Sudanese government and the Darfur rebel groups has made many potential donors leery of contributing to the peacekeeping mission.
Japan on Monday declined a request from Burundi to transport Burundian troops committed to the Darfur mission to the region, saying Japanese law prevented Tokyo's participation when there is no comprehensive peace agreement yet between the Sudanese government and the anti-government forces.
Mrs. Lute insisted the U.N. peacekeeping operation is making slow but dogged progress, with recent signs that the Sudanese government is ready to ease at least some restrictions on operations.
But she acknowledged the high stakes involved for the United Nations in Darfur, the largest and most visible mission of its kind since a string of scandals involving U.N. peacekeepers in Congo and elsewhere in the 1990s.
We at the United Nations do have a lot riding on the success of this mission, she said. We received some very bitter lessons from those experiences. Darfur is a real opportunity to demonstrate that we have learned those lessons.