In his meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday, President George W. Bush should pledge that the United States will provide necessary support so that the proposed U.N. mission in Darfur has both the mandate and capacity needed to protect the civilian population, Human Rights Watch said today.
Human Rights Watch also called on the United States to back full financial, material and logistical support for the current African Union Mission in Sudan forces through the U.N. transition period, which could last nine months.
When he travels to Washington to meet Bush, Annan is expected to call for substantial U.S. support for civilian protection in Darfur. In its capacity as this month’s president of the U.N. Security Council, on February 3 the United States issued a statement asking Secretary-General Annan to begin planning a U.N. operation in Darfur to respond to the deteriorating security situation there.
“President Bush should make it clear that the U.S. will provide the necessary support for a U.N. mission in Darfur. And he should call on other countries to do the same,” said Peter Takirambudde, Africa director for Human Rights Watch. “The United States should push for the strongest possible U.N. mandate to disarm the Janjaweed militias and protect civilians, using deadly force if necessary.”
Two million displaced civilians, already homeless and destitute as a result of targeted Sudanese government attacks in 2003-2004, continue to suffer rape and killings when they leave the confines of their camps in Darfur. In January, tens of thousands were displaced yet again by government-sponsored Janjaweed militia attacks, some as reprisals following the capture of a garrison town by one of the rebel movements.
Moreover, the Darfur conflict is spilling over into Chad. Human Rights Watch recently documented dozens of coordinated cross-border raids by Janjaweed militias and Chadian rebels supported by the Sudanese government from bases in Darfur. Since December, their attacks on Chadian border villages have resulted in dozens of civilians killed and injured, and have displaced thousands of people in eastern Chad. Sudanese government troops, vehicles and aerial support were used during several of the attacks in December.
The African Union’s 7,000-member monitoring and civilian protection force in Darfur has done much to provide security in Darfur, but it has been unable to protect civilians throughout the region. The A.U. force has lacked manpower and resources, and it faces dwindling funding. A small number of European and North American donors contribute financing for the A.U. operation in Darfur, but a U.N. force would be funded from the general U.N. coffers and thus draw on a larger financial base. The African Union’s role in convening the Darfur peace talks, now in their seventh round in the Nigerian capital Abuja, will continue.
Since late 2005, all parties have increased their attacks on A.U. troops and humanitarian aid convoys, and most humanitarian relief efforts in volatile West Darfur have been suspended or severely disrupted.
Within the next month, donors will meet to pledge additional funding for the A.U. force’s operations beyond the March 31 expiration date. Separately, the African Union is expected to prolong the mission’s mandate as appropriate. The mission will require a higher level of financial, logistical and other support to bridge the transition period until the U.N. force is fully in place.
“The U.S. should push for a rapid transition to a larger U.N. force, but must also beef up the A.U. force in the interim. Darfur’s civilians urgently need protection now, not just in six months,” Takirambudde said. “President Bush needs to go to Congress to request supplemental funding in cash and in kind. The U.S. needs to help the A.U. mission strengthen its capacity, and support the transition to a larger U.N. force.”
