Oxfam: AU should call for AMIS mandate that prioritises civilian protection

Thanks to Bruschetta Boy for his blog entry at Aaronovitch Watch saying:

"Sudan Watch is an excellent portal for news headlines from Sudan. The author is basically Decent in orientation but currently believes that a reinforced African Union force could be sufficient to restore peace to Darfur. The blog is pretty much free of editorial spin though and is entirely worth reading for anyone who is planning on talking a lot about Darfur in their column."

Some readers may be interested to know Sudan Watch blog author has believed all along that a reinforced African Union force with an expanded mandate is preferable to military intervention (an act of war) by international forces and/or NATO.

Military intervention would bring out all the jihadists and set the tinder box of Africa alight. Fearless Arab warriors, with great horse and camel riding skills, who can read the sands like the back of their hands and subsist on next to nothing, are a force to be reckoned with in the Sudan, a huge blistering hot country with rainy seasons, shifting sands and mud, the size of Europe. [See Vegetation Map of Sudan]

Military intervention would result in aid workers being dismissed from the country, making it impossible to deliver humanitarian aid to those most in need. Millions of Sudanese people could perish, defeating the object of intervention.

All military interventions have an objective, usually to oust existing regimes. Sudan is not a failed state. Until UN reform clarifies matters re sovereignty, UN members should not, without a UN resolution, invade any country in order to dictate who governs and how it is run. Meanwhile, outsiders can only offer support and provide help where it is needed and accepted.



Photo: African Union (AU) soldiers parade at their base in el-Geneina in Sudan's West Darfur state, March 16, 2006. (Reuters/Opheera Mcdoom)

On March 10, 2006 ReliefWeb published an article by Jeremy Hobbs, Executive Director of Oxfam International. The piece, entitled In Darfur, time is running out is reprinted here in full as it reflects this blog author's view - especially the last paragraph where it says "equipping AMIS with more funds and a strengthened mandate would send a clear message to the displaced millions that their immediate safety is our foremost concern."

"In Darfur, time is running out" By Jeremy Hobbs, Oxfam International

It is now nearly three years since newspapers and televisions were first filled with images of the violence and mass displacements in Darfur. Yet today nearly two million people remain in camps, over a million more are dependent on humanitarian aid, and civilians face daily threats of violence.

The conflict will not be put on hold for the next nine months. Irrespective of any future UN involvement, AMIS needs more troops, more funding and a stronger mandate, and it needs them now.

AMIS has done an admirable job in extremely difficult circumstances. Many of the enormous camps for Internally Displaced People (IDPs) -- some the size of small cities -- are now relatively secure thanks in large part to the AU presence. In camps such as Kalma in south Darfur, thousands of women are now able to go out and collect much needed firewood under the watch of AU patrols. To do so before the arrival of the patrols was risking assault, or worse, death.

But outside these camps, and in areas where the AU force is not present, people cannot move around without fear of harassment and attack. Villagers -- many unable to reach camps because the journey is too dangerous -- live in perpetual fear. For those fortunate enough to make it to the camps, they wish for the day they can return to their villages -- a sign that the conflict would be coming to an end. But for the moment the insecurity makes any talk of returning home an impossible dream.

Darfur, a region the size of Texas, is one of the least developed regions of Africa and is now experiencing what the UN has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. And yet the AU is expected to keep more than three million civilians safe with fewer than 7,000 poorly equipped troops.

Even successful initiatives such as the firewood patrols have been limited. In most camps, the AU does not have the capability to undertake patrols day and night, so after dark displaced people are once again exposed to danger.

Humanitarian access, upon which half the population in Darfur is dependent, has also been affected by the failure to stem the violence. Half of Oxfam's programs now have to be accessed by air because roads are too insecure.

The most urgent priority is to equip AMIS with a proactive, robust mandate that prioritizes civilian protection and allows AMIS greater flexibility to implement it. The Darfur context is much more complex, insecure and unpredictable than that in which the current defensive mandate was agreed in late 2004.

To effectively protect civilians the AU will also need a much larger, stronger force. At a bare minimum it needs enough troops to enable a 24-hour, 7 days a week presence in the camps. Top UN officials have spoken of a UN force needing up to 20,000 troops. There is no reason why the AU should have to make do with any less.

The international community has a vital role to play in this. While countries such as Rwanda, Nigeria and South Africa have contributed significant numbers of personnel, AMIS is reliant on international funding and a donor conference is planned before the end of the month.

In the meantime however, the AU should call for the mandate to be strengthened and should voluntarily provide troops to staff the mission, while international donors provide increased funds with which to implement this expansion. Britain recently pledged a further 20 million British pounds to the AU force, but more will be needed if a difference is really to be made.

Amid all the talk of handing over to the UN, international governments are in danger of adopting an attitude of winding down the AU mission. This must not be allowed to happen. The coming months are crucial for Darfur: without immediately strengthening AMIS the situation on the ground could plummet new depths.

Equipping AMIS with more funds and a strengthened mandate would send a clear message to the displaced millions that their immediate safety is our foremost concern. It would also tell warring parties that the continued violence is not acceptable. On the other hand, maintaining AMIS in its present form -- under-funded, ill-equipped and lacking sufficient personnel -- is effectively telling millions of civilians that their suffering is going to get even worse.



Photo: Nigerian African Union (AU) soldiers parade at their base in el-Geneina in Sudan's Western Darfur state, March 16, 2006. (Reuters/Opheera Mcdoom)