More Dancin' on Darfur

12 year old Darfur rape victim


The big news yesterday was the UN Security Council Resolution 1769 on Darfur, which calls for a 26,000 man UN peacekeeping force. And the Sudan has accepted and agreed to comply.

Uh...hold the champagne.

The resolution itself was so watered down by the Islamic bloc and their friends Russia and China that it does not even threaten sanctions if the Sudan suddenly changes its mind and refuses to comply.

Second, the Sudan itself warned the UN that the peacekeepers must not feel that they have total freedom of movement or can operate how they wish. The current resolution does not allow the international force to confront militiamen like the janjeweed or to confiscate their government supplied weapons.The force's mandate will be to protect civilians, but it's impossible for me to see how they plan on doing that if they are not allowed to `confront' the militias that have been raping, murdering and enslaving the people of Darfur for months with the Sudan's support and approval.

What are they planning to do? Shout `naughty, naughty' at the janjiweed militias?

And given the general reputation of the UN's peacekeeping forces, you have to wonder whether they would confront the janjiweed even if they were allowed to do so!

Another issue is the issue of resettlement. During the ethnic cleansing of Darfur,2 million refugees have been created and half a million people have been killed - and the land abandoned by civilians in Darfur has been occupied by Arabs backed by the Sudanese government.

In addition, the new force, called UNAMID won't even be deployed until the end of this year...which gives the Sudan plenty of time to step up its attacks against civilians, or come up with some additional delaying tactics.

What this is, in essence is a `feel-good' solution that does nothing to protect the people of Darfur or to punish a government that condoned and supported what amounts to genocide.

It does do one thing. It confirms the UN 's reputation for corruption, hypocrisy and fecklessness.