AU, UN Forces in Darfur Must be Strengthened

(BuaNews)- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appealed to member states to speed up the delivery of vital units and equipment for the newly launched but under-strengthened joint UN-African Union force (UNAMID).

This is necessary to carry out UNAMID’s task to stem the violence in Sudan’s Darfur region.

Four months into the implementation of the Security Council resolution mandating a force of 20 000 troops and more than 6 000 police, UNAMID, which formally took over from the existing AU operations on Monday, still only has some 9 000 uniformed personnel on the ground.

This is according to Mr Ban’s report to the 15-member body, dated 24 December but only released on Thursday.

"Furthermore, the government does not appear to have fully embraced the fact that a robust and effective UNAMID will contribute towards Darfur’s long-term stability," he writes of the vast region.

More than 200 000 people have been killed and 2.2 million others were forced to flee their homes since fighting began in 2003 between government forces and rebel groups.

Meanwhile, continuing rebel activity, including attacks on government forces and oil installations and assaults on and hijackings of humanitarian vehicles, all underscore the uncertain circumstances under which UNAMID is being launched, he added.

Despite these challenges UNAMID will make every effort to make maximum use of its current limited resources and personnel, including a "more forward-leaning posture", increased patrolling and enhanced outreach to internally displaced persons and humanitarian activities.

However, Mr Ban said: "This cannot replace the thousands of troops and police officers and vital equipment which will not arrive until later in 2008."

He said this is a particularly worrying scenario given the ongoing insecurity in Darfur, and the very strong possibility that the mission will be tested by spoilers in the early stages.

In this context, and because of time constraints, Mr Ban appealed to Member States for support in accelerating the deployment of selected units and filling outstanding gaps in force composition.

Mr Ban stressed that the international community could not afford the risks associated with the deployment of a weak force.

He noted that the effective functioning of UNAMID will also be highly dependent on the ability of the UN and AU to work with the government to rapidly resolve the complex technical issues related to its deployment.

"It is paramount that all parties commit themselves to an end to violence and hostilities," he writes.

While UNAMID will help improve stability once fully deployed, "it is only through political dialogue and inclusive consultations that the parties will be able to reach a viable, sustainable and comprehensive to the crisis," he said.

Mr Ban added that while merging the number of rebel movements into two coalitions is a step forward, "there is still an enormous amount of ground to cover."

Efforts on the political front are being led by the UN and AU Special Envoys for Darfur, Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahmed Salim, who have been pursuing a political settlement to the crisis through negotiations aimed at a achieving a peace agreement between the government of Sudan and the Darfurian movements.

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