10 March 2008

Bush Envoy Urges Additional Peacekeepers for Darfur

Ambassador says UNAMID forces are most effective way to alleviate suffering

By Steve Kaufman
Staff Writer

Washington -- Saying it is “past time for talk” in international humanitarian efforts to alleviate “the first great horror of the 21st century,” President Bush’s special envoy to Sudan urges an accelerated deployment of troops for the United Nations - African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

Speaking in New York March 5 after a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, Ambassador Richard Williamson said the council’s immediate priority should be to get more troops from the hybrid peacekeeping force on the ground.

“The normal rotation from AU battalions to U.N. battalions, plus the Egyptians and Ethiopians, would mean another 3,600 African peacekeepers on the ground by the end of May,” he said, adding that the international community also will seek to persuade the Sudanese government to accept an additional 1,600 non-African forces offered by Nepal and Thailand.

Williamson said malnutrition in Darfur worsened over the past year and additional areas now are beyond the reach of humanitarian relief workers.

However, he said, humanitarian workers have reported that UNAMID “is making a huge difference” in the areas where it has been able to deploy. International forces have addressed specific situations in and around camps for internally displaced persons, such as protecting women gathering firewood in the early morning, and providing security for the Thursday markets inside the camps, to bring about a “dramatic decrease in violence,” Williamson said.

“We believe we can add thousands of peacekeepers in the next few months and thousands more by the end of the year, which will make a more stable situation, a more secure situation, and allow humanitarian relief to get there,” he said.

U.S. INITIATIVE AIMS TO EXPAND SUPPORT FOR PEACEKEEPING EFFORT

The United States has provided $400 million in assistance to create 35 camps for the African Union and U.N. troops. Williamson said that President Bush recently committed an additional $100 million to provide them with training and equipment.

The ambassador also announced a March 6 U.S. initiative to establish the group Friends of UNAMID, which will help coordinate the needs of the force and the countries providing assistance.

However, he said, “nobody can be particularly proud of what we’ve done yet,” because the force still needs better camps, a reliable water supply and more funding contributions to develop its infrastructure.

“This is where the United States and the friends of UNAMID are going to make a contribution. We have to help those countries who have stepped forward in saying that they are willing to contribute [and] be trained and equipped in order to do that,” he said.

Williamson added that the current security situation in Darfur is unacceptable, “including the violence that in part is the result of militias, in part is the result of rebel leaders and in part a result of the government of Sudan.”

During recent talks in Khartoum with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese leader rejected the offers of troops from Nepal and Thailand, Williamson said, but added that the Bush administration believes that is “not an acceptable answer” and that there are ways to alleviate some of the Sudanese government’s concerns.

“All we want is results on the ground so there can be alleviation of humanitarian suffering, so there can be some stability. And of all the implements available to accomplish that, one of the most effective will be getting boots on the ground, under blue helmets,” Williamson said.