UN is warned Darfur aid may fail

The vital UN peacekeeping mission planned for war-torn Darfur is in danger of failing through lack of support, a top official said has warned.

It will not be ready to start work by the beginning of 2008 unless contributing countries provide air and ground transport.

UN under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations Jean-Marie Guehenno said the world could face a grim choice: either delay the takeover or start the deployment with an ill-equipped force that may not be able to protect its own peacekeepers, let alone civilians.

The United Nations has already been arguing with Sudan over the UN-African Union mission for over a year while the conflict in Darfur has raged.

More than 200,000 people have died since fighting broke out in 2003, and the peace process suffered a setback last month when key rebels boycotted talks in Libya.

Mr Guehenno expressed frustration with Sudan for resisting contributions from outside Africa such as Thailand, Nepal and Scandinavia. But he also criticised UN member countries for failing to offer helicopters and other equipment.

“If those issues are not addressed very shortly, it means the mission in 2008 will not be able to make the difference that the world wants to it to make and that it may become a failure,” Mr Guehenno said.

The 26,000-strong force still needs 18 transport helicopters and six support light helicopters crucial for sending reinforcements swiftly in emergencies, he said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is in constant talks with defense ministers around the world, but has yet to receive concrete offers, Mr Guehenno said.

“I think it tells a sad story on the commitment for Darfur, frankly,” he said.

He acknowledged that Sudan’s reluctance to accept contributions from outside Africa may be deterring governments from pledging help.

Last month, Sudan said it did not oppose contributions of equipment from non-African countries, but that it would have to be consulted about the nationalities of the helicopter pilots.

The joint force is to take over from a beleaguered 7,000-member African Union mission. But Sudan has yet to approve a list of contributing countries despite concessions to its demands that the force be predominantly African.

“It seems the Sudanese authorities have not yet understood that they have to act and they should stop arguing on each an every detail of the operation,” French UN Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said after hearing Mr Guehenno’s analysis.

“We are really wondering if they really agree with the operation or if they are trying to stop the operation from being deployed.”

Mr Guehenno said Thailand would provide the only non-African battalion out of 18 on the proposed force, while Nepal was the only country to offer special forces. Denmark, Sweden and Norway have offered engineers.

Sudan has insisted on more technical discussions before approving the units even though UN officials have repeatedly explained their importance, Mr Guehenno said.

“These units are ready to deploy in early 2008 and if they do not deploy there is no alternative, so it means critical capacity will be lacking,” he said.

Diplomats said the Security Council would soon reconvene to discuss what to do about the problem, but offered no indications about possible steps.

But a British official said the Security Council was not immediately considering delaying the takeover.

“It’s a terrible dilemma because you can on the one hand say that a force, even it doesn’t have all the assets, can make a limited difference for a number of Darfurians,” Mr Guehenno said.

“On the other hand if that force was to know humiliation in the early stages of deployment, it will be very hard to recover from the humiliation.”