You Want the UN's Support, Mr. Bashir? You've Got It.

Less than 9,000 people have been killed in the Darfur conflict during the last three years, according to Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir. To quell the little violence that does occur, President Bashir has proposed before the television screens of eight different nations that the UN provide the funding for a completely ineffective African Union force, which has no mandate or means with which to save any lives in the region. (The fact that its limited mission in Darfur has been extended to 31 June 2007 is almost inconsequential, as the troops have not been given stronger mandates or any significant means with which to achieve any real purpose.)

In response to Bashir's two and a half hour press release in which he made the above claims, Sudan's Popular Congress Party's Bashir Adam Rahman said that "When [al-Bashir] denies the sun in the middle of the day that means either he is not serious or he thinks people are fools" (Reuters).

Mr. Rahman's point is well taken, as over 300,000 people have perished in the almost four year old genocide. Over 10,000 people are being killed each month, according the the World Health Organization, let alone in the last three and a half years. This monthly human toll is bound to be on the rise, as the violence continues to engulf neighboring Chad.

The recently formed UN Human Rights Council has subtly declared that President Bashir has the support he has requested. On November 28th, the Council rejected a European Union proposal "to highlight what they said was the special responsibilty of the Sudan government to rein in rights violations and bring those involved to justice" (Reuters). (The rejection was made by a vote of 22-20, with 4 members abstaining.)An African proposal made to "call for an end to violations in Darfur but without criticizing Khartoum" passed, however, indicating the UN's apparent willingness to condemn war crimes, systematic rape, and starvation used as a weapon of war without following up their condemnations with life-saving action. Jan Egeland, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the UN has been very outspoken about halting the slaughters, and his efforts are to be commended. The absent action of his organization at large, however, is a disgrace to humanity. Not only is this a humanitarian issue to be immediately dealt with, but Chapter VII of the UN's own Charter mandates that war crimes be halted using "action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security" (Article 42). For those who refuse to see the serious implications for international security that the refugee problems in Darfur and Chad will soon become, see my earlier posting, Proof of Genocide and the Future of Terrorism. Chad has now become fully immersed in the genocide, providing both additional victims and perpetrators for the Sudanese government.