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27-05-2005 The Scotsman Cash finally flows to help Darfur - but it's GBP 146m too late By Gethin Chamberlain Chief News Correspondent DIPLOMATS charged with funding an expanded African Union peacekeeping force to prevent further slaughter in the Darfur region of Sudan yesterday pledged less than a half of the money needed for the mission. A year on since the genocide in Darfur was first brought to the attention of the United Nations, and in spite of a growing clamour for action led by human rights campaigners, aid agencies and newspapers such as The Scotsman, the UN concedes that the situation in the western region of the vast African country remains critical. Yesterday, Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, told a conference in Ethiopia that they were "running a race against time". Mr Annan urged rich nations to fund an expansion of the small African Union forces sent to Sudan "without delay", saying civilians were still being attacked. "An expanded African Mission, at full operational capability, will mean the great majority of vulnerable civilians in Darfur will be protected from violence," he said. But, despite the reports of continuing attacks in Darfur, where upwards of 300,000 people are already believed to have died as a result of conflict, the countries gathered at the conference failed to come up with the cash required. The African Union told donors that it needed dollars 466 million (GBP 256 million) to more than triple its existing force in Darfur and to equip it with six helicopter gunships, 116 armoured personnel carriers and fuel. Instead the donors pledged only dollars 200 million (GBP 110 million), dollars 134 million of that coming from Canada alone. The United States pledged dollars 50 million on top of the dollars 95 million it had already offered to end what Charles Snyder, the US State Department's senior representative on Sudan, described as "acts of genocide". Britain offered dollars 12 million and Germany dollars 1 million. Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief, said the EU was ready to support the political and military efforts to end the conflict, but did not provide any financial figures. But there were suggestions yesterday that some of the shortfall could be made up by the involvement of NATO. Mr Snyder said that the only way to end the violence in Darfur was through the deployment of a large African Union force supported by NATO. "The truth is the AU was looking for outside support and when you are looking at support on this kind of scale we need an organisation that can do it, such as NATO," he said. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the NATO secretary general, told the conference that NATO was ready to supply airlift capability and training for the AU peacekeepers. "If you ask for help and we can help, we will help," he said. "But the African Union has to remain in the driving seat." The 53-nation AU has deployed about 2,300 troops to monitor a shaky ceasefire in Darfur, with international financial backing to pay for the mission. However, experts say the force is far too small to patrol such a large area. Reports continue of daily attacks on villages by Sudanese government forces and their allied Janjaweed militias, and aid agencies fear that with refugees forced away from their homes and unable to plant crops, malnutrition will become an increasingly significant killer. Mr Annan told yesterday's meeting that the international community would end up having to finance an "epic relief effort" if more violence made food even scarcer. "We are running a race against time. The rainy season and the 'hunger gap' are approaching fast, making our relief operations more difficult," he said. "If violence and fear prevent the people of Darfur from planting and growing crops next year, then millions will have to be sustained by an epic relief effort which will stretch international capacity to the maximum." Alpha Oumar Konare, the AU commission chairman, said the peacekeeping operation was a critical test of international commitment and Africa's resolve to end conflicts in the world's poorest continent. The AU would like to increase its forces in Darfur to more than 12,300 men in order to have some chance of putting a stop to fighting between rebels and Arab militias, and to safeguard the villagers from further government-backed attacks. The European Union and 26-nation NATO alliance have agreed to provide air transport and training for the expanded AU force. But some experts suggest that even the suggested expansion of the AU force would be inadequate. The genocide prevention group Aegis Trust said the AU needed an "absolute minimum" of 25,000 troops in Darfur, where it estimates 500 people are dying a day. Dr James Smith, the chief executive of the Aegis Trust, which co-ordinates the Protect Darfur campaign, said: "Any expansion of the AU mission in Darfur is welcome, but 25,000 troops has to be an absolute minimum for any hope of achieving civilian protection. Sheer numbers alone, however, will be pointless without a robust peace enforcement mandate from the United Nations." He urged Britain to table a new UN motion mandating peace enforcement in Darfur. The group Human Rights Watch also expressed doubts about the plans, pointing out that the expanded AU force was not due to be in place until next spring. Peter Takirambudde, the group's Africa director, said: "If African countries contribute more troops and donors provide needed technical and logistical support now, it should be possible to speed up protection efforts in Darfur. "The people of Darfur can't wait until next spring for the African Union to reach its planned troop deployment." The group claimed that "gross human rights abuses" were continuing in Darfur and that the Sudanese government had taken no serious steps to rein in or prosecute the forces involved despite a number of UN resolutions passed since last July. And it reported that Janjaweed militia were attempting to consolidate "ethnic cleansing" by attacking farmers who tried to return to their homes. Speakers at yesterday's conference also highlighted the need for progress in stalled peace talks between the Sudanese government and rebels in the region. Negotiations had been due to resume in Abuja on 30 May, but two rebel groups delayed the talks.
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................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
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