Madeleine Albright, others: Send NATO to Darfur

[Adelante]

NATO to Darfur


By The International Herald Tribune

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, MAY 26, 2005 -- This article was written by Madeleine Albright, U.S. secretary of state in the Clinton administration, and former foreign ministers Robin Cook of Britain, Lamberto Dini of Italy, Lloyd Axworthy of Canada, Ana Palacio of Spain, Erik Derycke of Belgium, and Surin Pitsuwan of Thailand.

-snip-

The fundamental cause of the humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur is, at best, the failure of the government of Sudan to take effective action against the militias terrorizing civilians, and at worst, its active complicity and support in these activities. Sudan has demonstrated that it lacks both the will and capacity to protect its own people, and therefore we believe the international community, consistent with the emerging international norm of the "Responsibility to Protect," must act in this glaring case of genocide and do whatever is necessary to halt the killing and abuse of innocent civilians.

The courageous African Union mission deserves enormous credit for seeking to help the people of Darfur, and its deployment of nearly 2,500 troops, with a promise to add another 3,000 police and troops this summer, must be the backbone of any mission of protection. But because the AU force is currently too small to cover an area the size of France and lacks critical logistical capacities, the militias continue to burn villages and besiege refugees in their camps.

The African Union needs far greater support. And NATO can help. The alliance should immediately provide the AU with helicopters (already offered by Canada); command, control and support capabilities; and strategic and tactical lift. Drawing on its Rapid Response Force, which is now at its initial operational capacity of 17,000, NATO should put a brigade-sized element at the disposal of the United Nations to augment the AU force until it can build up sufficient strength of its own.

In addition, NATO should seek authority from the Security Council for a new Chapter VII resolution establishing a no-flight zone over Darfur, which NATO aircraft would enforce. Although some states on the Security Council, notably China, have opposed tougher measures on the grounds that the Sudanese government should be given time to resolve the conflict in Darfur through a new political process, it remains an open question as to whether these governments would vote against an action that was aimed at saving lives.

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http://www.sudantribune.com/article.php3?id_article=9770

[applegrove]

1. Check out today's Darfur Daily News May 26, 2005

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3736412#