Darfur Peacekeeping Force Authorized

The UN Security Council has authorized about 26,000 peacekeepers for Darfur. The resolution (UNSC 1769) was watered down to address China’s concerns and Sudan sovereignty claims. It is true that the Government of Sudan (GoS) cannot be held responsible for every crime in Darfur, but the GoS is undeniably the very main culprit and the perpetrator in all large-scale atrocities. It is also the ONLY player in this conflict, who can actually solve Darfur and other Sudan problems pretty quickly if it wants. No other actor, domestically or internationally, has this ability. On the face of it, the GoS insistence on Sudan sovereignty seems plausible, until you find out that the GoS does not believe in sovereignty for its own people.

On the other hand, I got the impression that the US, the UK and other western countries were taking their justifiable loathing of the GoS a bit too far. It appeared to me that they were more concerned about punishing the Sudanese government than making Darfur a safer place for its people. And that’s why I am glad that all the parties seem to have reached an agreement to bring peace, not more war to Darfur.

The acceptance by the resolution’s sponsors of the watered down text may not be what the GoS critics wanted. But the good news is that it puts Khartoum on the defensive and deprives it from using sovereignty and war on terror issues for propagandistic purposes. Now it is time for the GoS to deliver, under international scrutiny and pressure, what the GoS failed to do as a responsible government.