Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – The United Nations Security Council held a summit yesterday, chaired by France’s president Nicolas Sarkozy, aimed at strengthening and mobilizing the international community in working with African Union representatives to map out concrete goals and a plan of action.  Heads of State and government from the 15 Security Council members, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and AU Commission Chairperson Alpha Oumar Konare took part in the debate that largely focused on the ongoing conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution early Tuesday morning approving a European Union-AU peacekeeping force to be sent to Chad and Central African Republic to deal with the spillover from the Darfur conflict.  The resolution, says the “multidimensional presence” of EU and UN forces should protect civilians, help the governments in Chad and the Central African Republic deal with refugees, and assist in the delivery of humanitarian aid.  The resolution authorizes the force to remain for an initial period of a year and states that the UN should plan on and create a UN peacekeeping force to replace it.

Meanwhile, efforts to get rebel leaders to agree to meet for peace talks next month have proven difficult.  On Tuesday, rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim said that he will continue fighting during the upcoming peace talks until a final settlement is agreed on.  Despite the intense international pressure to end the fighting, the rebel leaders continue to refuse to agree to a cease-fire during the peace talks.  Ibrahim stated that ceasing fire is a “termination of the resistance and revolution” and that he refused to do so until a lasting peace agreement was made.

In 2006, the three rebel groups negotiated a truce, which the government allegedly violated.  Only one of the rebel groups singed that agreement, and many in Darfur have rejected it as inadequate.  Since those talks, the rebels have split into more than twelve rival groups.

Currently, the U.S. is the only country on the Security Council that has labeled the Darfur conflict a genocide.  More than 200,000 people have died and 2 million have been displaced.

For more information, please see:

Reuters UK – Darfur rebel leader says no truce for talks – 26 September 2007

Relief Web – UN Mission in Sudan News Bulletin – 26 September 2007

AFP – US, France back peacekeeping forces to Darfur, Chad – 25 September 2007

Blooomberg – Bush, Citing Darfur ‘Genocide,’ Demands Cease-Fire – 25 September 2007

AllAfrica.com – Sudan: Echoes of Genocide in Darfur, Eastern Chad – 25 September 2007