Decision on sending Irish troops to Darfur due soon
The UN recently secured a mandate to deploy a force of 26,000 in the troubled Sudanese region in a bid to protect local civilians, and Ireland may be asked to contribute to the deployment — possibly via the new European Union battle groups.
A request sent to all UN countries is being considered by the Department of Defence and will end up before the cabinet.
“We have to consider all aspects of the role and the mandate,” a spokesperson said. “We have to see then if we can make a meaningful contribution to the mission.”
The Irish defence forces are part of the Nordic battle group, along with soldiers from Scandinavian countries, which is due to go on standby on January 1.
If the timing is right, the peacekeeping project in Darfur could include the EU group with up to about 100 Irish soldiers.
“It’s a possibility, but that’s all it is at the moment,” said defence forces spokesman Commandant Gavin Young yesterday.
He said the decision would be made at political level, in line with the so-called triple lock system required for Irish involvement overseas — a UN resolution, government approval and Dáil approval.
The total number of Irish troops overseas is 552, with 270 of those in Kosovo.
Fine Gael defence spokesman Billy Timmins yesterday backed the concept of Irish troops participating in the Darfur peacekeeping task.
“I think it’s very important that we do get involved. It’s also very important that we would have a very definite role to play. They would want to know exactly what their role is,” he said.
There have been many calls for the UN to get involved in Darfur since the local people first started coming under attack from the Janjaweed militia. Negotiations on ending the four-year conflict are due to start on October 27.
It’s estimated that more than 200,000 people have been killed in the violence, with another 2.5 million forced to leave their homes.
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