The response to the genocide in Darfur Sudan has three dimensions--(1) a humanitarian rescue mission, (2) an intervention to stop the criminal conduct of the government and its militias, and (3) the diplomatic mission to bring effective pressure on Sudan. Here is a quick summary of where things appear to stand on rescue, intervention, and diplomacy:
1. Rescue. At the humanitarian level an almost impossible rescue (see Eric Reeves' revised morality figures) continues to be made more difficult by tensions between the humanitarian groups and the Sudanese government, as well as by continued attacks on civilians by millitias and the government.
For example, UN Representative Jan Pronk--not normally very combative--is embroiled today in a struggle to open a camp now closed for days by Sudanese authorities:
Mr. Pronk also expressed concern about the lack of progress so far on the ground and at the fact that the Janjaweed militia still constitute a threat around camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs).The envoy's comments followed the recent killing of an IDP employed by CARE-International and the closure of a South Darfur camp by the Sudanese authorities.
Reacting to those events, he noted that for three days the UN and humanitarian workers have been denied access to Kalma camp, and said this “will have serious consequences on the IDPs' needs for relief and assistance, particularly severely malnourished children who require daily assistance in therapeutic feeding centers inside the camp.”
..The Government authorities ordered the suspension of all humanitarian activities at the camp and African Union (AU) monitors were denied entry.
Even in camps where there is complete access to aid workers, such as in Chad, conditions are very grim, as reported in this story today in the San Jose Mercury News.
2. Intervention.Short of the needed full-scale peacekeeping force, preferably as favored by Nigeria and Rwanda and some others in the African Union, the current strategy seems to be to put in as much "medicine" as possible, and hope that the progress of the genocide can at least be slowed.
As has been widely reported, the first 150 Rwandan troops have entered Sudan under the auspices of the African Union, and are in the process of being deployed. This is a drop in the bucket. On the other hand, it will allow the African Union monitors to have more mobility, and thus be able to alert the world more effectively to what is going on. In addition, contrary to the wishes of the Sudanese government, the troops have orders from Rwanda to defend civilians if the need arises.
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda compared the fighting in Darfur to his country's genocide 10 years ago and called for more outside forces to be sent to Sudan."Our forces will not stand by and watch innocent civilians being hunted to death like here in 1994," said Mr Kagame. "I have no doubt that they will intervene forcefully to protect civilians."
..Sudan says the outside forces are not peacekeepers, but Mr Kagame made clear that he believed his soldiers' mandate included protecting Darfur's refugees.He added that many more troops were needed. "The size of the forces asked for in my view is too small - 150 people cannot go to bring peace to a country many times bigger than Rwanda," he said.
The French Embassy in Washington acknowledged to a friend of POtP that French F1 Mirage jets are now flying recon missions along the Chad/Darfur border. This is intended gather photos of what is happening in Darfur, and also may act intimidate the janjaweed militias inside Darfur to limit their operations. All this is in addition to helping the French troops continue to monitor the border with Chad, and protect refugees arriving into Chad from Darfur.
As reported yesterday, the UK sent a 30 person military recon team into Sudan for ten days recently, in order to do planning for what is described as a humanitarian mission, but might turn into something more.
A senior defence source said the situation was very complex and was not just about providing aid. "We need to look at protecting ourselves and the displaced persons; it is a massive problem. Our planning allows us to look at the problems of dealing with thousands of people. There are currently 850,000 homeless and we need to review how we are going to prevent the Janjaweed [the notorious pro-government militia] from mounting further attacks.
3. Diplomacy. At the diplomatic level there is a standoff between two sides, the Arab League and China, who are denouncing outside intervention in Sudan, versus members of the African Union--notably Nigeria and Rwanda--who want to mount a strong African sponsored and African staffed peacekeeping mission to Sudan, and who are supported by western powers including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and to some exent France.
The diplomatic effort needs to reinforce Nigeria, Rwanda and other concerned African nations who want to stop the genocide.
Diplomacy must break through the walls of support erected around the government of Sudan by China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt--the "Genocide Bloc." I believe their alliance constitutes an emerging danger in the Middle East and Africa. These nations share a history of sacrificing human rights in the service of authoritarian control of their societies. These nations control a great deal of oil and, in the case of China, are adding more African oil interests every day.
It is not clear to what extent the critical player, the US administration and especially the US
State Department, continues to be motivated to support strong action in Darfur and Sudan. Here is a piece of bad news:
David Rubenstein of the Save Darfur coalition attended a US State Department briefing on Sudan on Friday, along with about 40 other representatives of concerned organizations. David's report after the meeting was discouraging. State Department officials said that if the Sudanese govenment does not voluntarily stop the killing, the UN Security Council is unlikely to take strong action. In this case, according to these officials, the US can do little more for the people of Darfur and Sudan. When asked point blank if this meant that US government now intends to write off one million people in Sudan, the official said "I did not say that"--but under further questioning this is essentially what she asserted. David's conclusion is that we need much more public outcry if we are to get the US government bureacracy to take the genocide in Sudan seriously.
Call your Senator. Call the White House at (202) 456-1111.
When you get through to an operator, please thank the President for providing support for the people of Darfur Sudan, but tell him much more needs to be done.
And plan to join an event on August 25!
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