Stopping the Killing in Darfur

dublin | anti-war / imperialism | opinion/analysis Friday September 22, 2006 10:18 by John O'Shea - GOAL

Military force is needed to intervene to halt the genocide

The need for an international standing army to prevent horrendous massacres is no more clearly demonstrated than in the case of Sudan's cursed Darfur zone, which is in free fall.

The risk to civilians there is greater now than at any time since the conflict first erupted. The African Union peacekeepers' mandate expires at the end of this month, and Sudan has rejected entry of a UN peacekeeping force.

Aid agencies - the lifeline for 2.5 million people - are threatening to pull out as a result of the direct targeting of humanitarians, leaving the already devastated civilian population further exposed and at risk.

Sudan plans instead to send in a large number of its own troops. Given the government's record, it seems quite likely that - with international observers out of the way - Khartoum can get on with the business of completing the genocide that it already under way.

Having passed some 13 resolutions on Darfur, with the latest calling for the deployment of a 20,000-strong UN force to the region, the UN has clearly failed Darfur. The question remains: which standing organisation will fill this security vacuum to protect the people and keep aid channels open? There is none.

The UN does not employ a peacekeeping force of its own available for immediate deployment. Instead it must rely on force contributions from member nations under conditions set by the Security Council and acting under instructions that often do not provide for armed intervention. Under those conditions, and in the absence of the appropriate resources, enforcing Security Council resolutions is difficult at best.

With an independent force at their disposal, and no obligation to send in their own troops, the Security Council's often squabbling members would have less reason to drag out debates about when to intervene in crises.

Despite the pronouncement of "never again" in the wake of the Rwanda genocide, the massacres in Darfur have continued unabated for three-and-a-half years. It seems the international community has yet to learn the lessons of man-made tragedies which have traumatised large sections of the world's population over the past 30 years.

When will the lessons be learnt?