The international community is failing in its
responsibility to protect the inhabitants of Darfur,
many of whom are still dying or face indefinite
displacement from their homes. New thinking and
bold action are urgently needed. The consensus to
support a rough doubling of the African Union (AU)
force to 7,731 troops by the end of September 2005
under the existing mandate is an inadequate response
to the crisis. The mandate must be strengthened to
prioritise civilian protection, and a force level of at
least 12,000 to 15,000 is needed urgently now, not in
nearly a year as currently envisaged.
This requires more courageous thinking by the AU,
NATO, the European Union (EU), the UN and the
U.S. to get adequate force levels on the ground in
Darfur with an appropriate civilian protection mandate
as quickly as possible, which in practical terms means
within the next two months. Otherwise, security will
continue to deteriorate, the hope that displaced
inhabitants will ever return home will become even
more distant, and prospects for a political settlement
will remain dim.
While the UN and international non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) have taken the lead in responding
to growing humanitarian needs and authorising
accountability measures against those responsible for
atrocities, the AU has the lead for reaching a political
solution to the conflict and monitoring the
humanitarian and ceasefire agreements. The AU
Mission in Sudan (AMIS) has had a positive impact
on security in some areas by often going beyond the
strict terms of its mandate — but its ability to protect
civilians and humanitarian operations is hamstrung by
limited capacity, insufficient resources and political
constraints.
