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Extended Darfur mission 'will make a difference'Posted
It has been difficult for the peacekeeping force to make a difference. (AFP: Zohra Bensemra/Pool) A peacekeeping force has been in Africa's largest country for the last year and required an extension to continue its work. The United Nations Security Council today voted to keep the troops for another year, but the vote did not go smoothly, with the United States choosing not to vote at all because American diplomats objected to the text of the resolution. The introduction suggested that the Security Council take note of concerns among African nations about the possible indictment of Sudan's President, Omar Hassan El Beshir. He has been accused of genocide by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his role in the conflict in Darfur A spokesman for the US mission told the New York Times the US did not approve of the resolution being loaded up "like a Christmas tree with a bunch of other topics".
Trying to make a difference
Yesterday, the outgoing head of UN peacekeeping, Jean-Marie Guehenno, said it had been difficult for the force to fulfil its mandate. "Frankly in Darfur today there is not a real peace agreement," she said. "We do not have the kind of capacity that is needed to make a real difference." But Noah Bassil, the deputy director of the Centre for Middle East and African Studies at Sydney's Macquarie University, says that in some areas, the peacekeeping force has been effective. "One of the major problems they've had is that Darfur is such a large region and the conflict has really spread throughout most of that and into Chad as well, the neighbouring country," he said. "And their numbers and their mobility do not allow them to supervise and ensure peace throughout the whole region. "And the mobility of the attackers, the so-called Janjaweed, allows them to hit and run in many parts of Darfur where the peacekeepers are not stationed. As the peacekeepers move, the Janjaweed move accordingly," he added. "So it's been very difficult for them to maintain peace and order throughout the entire region, but they certainly have brought some stability to some parts." Mr Bassil says the conflict will only be resolved with a national reconciliation. "For it to be resolved in a way that ensures a lasting peace and one that is acceptable to the majority of people in Darfur and the rest of Sudan, there really needs to be a national reconciliation," he said. "One that takes into account the grievances of people in the west, that restores some sense of national government and takes into account some of the issues that the north-south agreement - the comprehensive peace agreement - has addressed, such as wealth distribution and power and decentralisation of power. "Until that's done, Sudan will remain a fragmented state and Darfur will remain an issue that they'll be unable to resolve properly." © Copyright by sudaneseonline.com |