Darfur: Extension of mandate for peacekeeping force of the African union demanded

The Society for Threatened peoples (GfbV) demanded urgently on Friday an extension of the mandate of the peacekeeping force of the African Union in Darfur to guarantee the effective protection of the civilian population. "If the international community is seriously interested in stopping the genocide then it must provide the AU force with the necessary logistic and financial support” said the GfbV expert for the Sudan, Ulrich Delius, "if it is not prepared to do so then the Security Council must send a UN peacekeeping force in accordance with Chapter VII of the UN Charta to secure the protection of the civilian population.” Article 42 states: The Security Council can take the necessary measures with air and land forces to restore international security.

In view of the lacking resolve of the Sudanese government to protect the civilian population from attacks and to disarm the Janjaweed militia, which is committing murder and rape, the AU force needs in the eyes of the GfbV a more robust mandate. Up until now it is supposed only to supervise the truce, but it has neither instructions to protect civilians, nor the right to pursue attackers. The GfbV calls urgently for the number of AU observers to be increased and their equipment improved. At the present moment only 6,000 African soldiers are stationed in Darfur, although it was planned for 7,700 observers to be sent to western Sudan by the end of September 2005. "And how are 760 badly equipped Nigerian soldiers in the vicinity of the provincial capital Geneina (West Darfur) to check the keeping of the truce in an area measuring 12,000 square km if their helicopters are grounded on account of a lack of fuel?” asked Delius. The 18 helicopters of the AMIS could only make a few starts because the Sudanese authorities obstructed their fuel supply.

In the light of the failure of the AU the call for the sending of a UN peacekeeping force is growing louder. This demand is supported by the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Elie Wiesel, the former commander-in-chief of the NATO, Wesley Clark, the former Canadian general, Romeo Dallaire, who is well known for his work against the genocide in Rwanda and by the International Association of Genocide Research Workers and numerous human rights organisations.