|
Letter to the Editor, Irish Times, 22nd September 2006
Madam, - The need for an international standing army
to prevent horrendous massacres is no more clearly demonstrated
than in the case of Sudan's cursed Darfur zone, which is in free
fall.
The risk to civilians there is greater now than at
any time since the conflict first erupted. The African Union peacekeepers'
mandate expires at the end of this month, and Sudan has rejected
entry of a UN peacekeeping force.
Aid agencies - the lifeline for 2.5 million people
- are threatening to pull out as a result of the direct targeting
of humanitarians, leaving the already devastated civilian population
further exposed and at risk.
Sudan plans instead to send in a large number of its
own troops. Given the government's record, it seems quite likely
that - with international observers out of the way - Khartoum can
get on with the business of completing the genocide that it already
under way.
Having passed some 13 resolutions on Darfur, with
the latest calling for the deployment of a 20,000-strong UN force
to the region, the UN has clearly failed Darfur. The question remains:
which standing organisation will fill this security vacuum to protect
the people and keep aid channels open? There is none.
The UN does not employ a peacekeeping force of its
own available for immediate deployment. Instead it must rely on
force contributions from member nations under conditions set by
the Security Council and acting under instructions that often do
not provide for armed intervention. Under those conditions, and
in the absence of the appropriate resources, enforcing Security
Council resolutions is difficult at best.
With an independent force at their disposal, and no
obligation to send in their own troops, the Security Council's often
squabbling members would have less reason to drag out debates about
when to intervene in crises.
Despite the pronouncement of "never again"
in the wake of the Rwanda genocide, the massacres in Darfur have
continued unabated for three-and-a-half years. It seems the international
community has yet to learn the lessons of man-made tragedies which
have traumatised large sections of the world's population over the
past 30 years.
When will the lessons be learnt?
Yours, etc,
JOHN O'SHEA
|
