A new UN Security Council resolution to send 26,000 peacekeepers to Darfur was unanimously approved Tuesday, and approved by Sudan today. Sudan hailed the resolution as a diplomatic victory and promised to uphold the deal since it respects Sudanese sovereignty. In June Sudan agreed to a compromise deal for the African Union to deploy a joint AU-UN peacekeeping force to end the violence. A resolution from the Security Council was slow coming however, due to Sudan’s opposition over talks of sanctions and condemning language.
The new mission authorized yesterday will absorb the current AU force that has failed to end the violence in Sudan’s Darfur region. The resolution authorizes up to 19,555 military personnel and 6,432 civilian police. The force is expected to have selected its commanders by October in order to take over operations from the AU force by the end of the year. The operation is expected to cost $2 billion in the first year.
Under the authority of Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, the resolution authorizes force for self-defense, to ensure the free movement of aid workers, and to protect civilians under attack. The resolution does not, however, allow force to seize illegal arms, providing that such weapons are only to be monitored. US academic and Sudan expert Eric Reeves stated that the deletion of such provisions weakened the resolution. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, who conducted months of talks with Khartoum, described the resolution as “historic and unprecedented.” Although the resolution no longer includes threats of sanctions, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown threatened to impose them if the killing continues.
The main Darfur rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Movement, has stated they are encouraged by the tough language of the resolution. However, SLM spokesman Yahia Bolad says they will reserve final judgment to see whether the peacekeepers are in fact able to enforce the agreement. Another major concern of the group is that a majority of the land abandoned by civilians in Darfur have since been taken over by Arabs backed by the Sudanese government. The SLM will not start thinking about a political agreement for Darfur until the attacks cease and settlement issues are resolved.
International experts estimate that over 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced from their homes since the conflict began in 2003.
For more information, please see:
AllAfrica – Sudan: AU, UN Force to Keep Peace – 01 August 2007
Christian Science Monitor – Sudan agrees to 26,000 UN troops in Darfur – 01 August 2007
Reuters – Sudan Pledges to Work with UN Darfur Force – 01 August 2007
VOA – Sudan Accepts Darfur Resolution, Rebels Have Their Doubts – 01 August 2007
Washington Post – Sudan Hails UN Peacekeepers – 01 August 2007
