Requirements for the Proposed U.N. forceThe MandateAny U.N. operation in Darfur must have a clear mandate to proactively protect civilians whether or not a peace agreement is in place. Given the scale and gravity of the abuses that have taken place and continue to occur in the region, protection of civilians remains the highest priority. Past experience in Darfur and lessons learned from U.N. operations in other countries have repeatedly demonstrated the importance of providing international forces with unambiguous guidance on this task. The Security Council must immediately secure the consent of the Sudanese government to the prompt and robust intervention of a U.N. force in Darfur no later than October 1, 2006 (when the A.U. mandate ends). The following elements should be included in any U.N. mandate:
Adequate Capacity and ResourcesIn addition to a clear and robust mandate to protect civilians, the U.N. force in Darfur must have adequate resources to implement its mandate. This means not only sufficient quantity and quality of military and civilian personnel 20,000 has been suggested by U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary-General Jan Pronk as the minimum necessary to be effective but the requisite technical and military capacity to deploy rapidly and in far greater numbers not only in key urban areas but also in Darfurs violent rural zones. Much of the AMIS force of 6,898 personnel has been concentrated in the larger towns and around the sprawling camps for internally displaced persons. The dearth of international presence and security in the rural areas has had several negative results. One is that abusive militia and bandit groups continue to attack civilians scattered in rural areas, causing them to flee into towns and camps. As a result they are cut off from farming and economic independence and become dependent on international humanitarian relief. A second consequence of minimal AMIS presence in rural areas is that travel between towns or to rural areas remains highly insecure, not only for civilians, but also for international humanitarian agencies. Civilians, aid workers, humanitarian convoys, and commercial vehicles have come under increasing attack in the past year, not only by the warring parties but also by armed bandits. Securing Darfurs main roads for civilian and humanitarian traffic and proactively patrolling the rural areas is therefore an important task for the U.N. force, and one which will require substantial human, logistical and technical capacity. Mobility and the ability to rapidly react to ambushes and reports of impending attacks are key to such protection. Instead of continuing to place Sudanese government interests above the survival of more than 1.7 million displaced Sudanese, U.N. Security Council members and regional institutions must prioritize the well-being of Sudanese citizens and fully support the urgent deployment of a robust, adequately equipped U.N. force to protect the civilians of Darfur. [5] United Nations Security Council, Report of the Panel of Experts established pursuant to paragraph 3 of resolution 1591 (2005) concerning the Sudan, S/2006/65, January 30, 2006, [online] http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/632/74/PDF/N0563274.pdf?OpenElement.
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