Renewed UN-AU Effort in Darfur
Will Ban Ki-moon put an end to Sudan's civil strife?
The United Nations, African Union and United States have announced their commitment to achieve peace in Sudan's troubled western region.
Kofi Annan would have liked his swan song to have been a peaceful solution to the catastrophe raging in western Sudan but now the Darfur endeavour will have to be the legacy of the United Nation's (UN) new Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon. Last April's peace deal between Khartoum and one rebel group was boldly ignored for the remainder of 2006. A further agreement was reached in Addis Ababa in November but has yet to be fully enforced. On January 5, however, the UN and the African Union (AU) announced they would step up their efforts to end the tragedy in Darfur.
Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, has previously rejected the UN's offer to deploy 20,000 peacekeepers to support an overextended AU force of 7,000. Recently, however, Khartoum has made inconsequential compromises to allow for UN tactical assistance. But refugees and Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) remain threatened by both rebel and government troops as little has changed in their lives.
In an attempt to convince Chinese officials to exert their influence over Sudan, the United States' Special Envoy to Sudan will visit Beijing from January 8 to 12. While many Western nations have criticized Sudan over Darfur, its Arab neighbours have remained silent and China has become its greatest partner and benefactor, wielding its Security Council veto whenever al-Bashir has felt threatened by undesirable proposals.
If the UN is to live up to the legitimacy of being the world's foremost ethical institution, its efforts in Darfur will have to be significantly amplified, especially since recent reports state that blue helmets have sexually abused citizens in southern Sudan, including children.
"Never again"
The statistics are grim and cannot help but force one to cringe as they recall the "never again" oath sworn after Rwanda's genocide in which more than 800,000 died in 100 days. In Darfur, three years of fighting has caused 200,000 deaths and 2.5 million to be displaced. Civilians on both sides of the Chad-Sudan border are in desperate need of safety. Over the past two weeks alone, more than 20,000 people in eastern Chad have been displaced due to the deteriorating security situation, according to the UN High Commission for Refugees. This has added further stress to the 12 camps already hosting 230,000 Darfuri refugees.
