Sudan: Call for multinational response

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ann-Louise Colgan (202) 546-7961

UN Prepares to Dump Darfur Crisis on the African Union;

Africa Action Calls for Immediate & Robust International Intervention
to Stop Genocide

Wednesday, September 1, 2004 (Washington, DC) - In response to today’s
report on Darfur from United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan,
and ahead of tomorrow’s Security Council debate on next steps, Africa
Action has warned against efforts by the international community to
unfairly foist on the African Union the ultimate responsibility for
stopping the genocide in western Sudan.

Annan’s report indicates that a UN plan has been presented to the
African Union as a blueprint for an expanded all-African force. The
Sudanese government has previously rejected such a force, but this UN
proposal itself bows to Khartoum’s calculated and stronger opposition to
any intervention that includes soldiers from anywhere other than Africa.

Africa Action today reiterated the call for an immediate and robust
multinational intervention to stop the ongoing genocide, as the UN
report concedes that the Khartoum government has failed to meet the
commitments it made in July and that government-sponsored attacks
against civilians are continuing in Darfur. Africa Action emphasizes
that the UN and the member states of the Security Council should bear
the responsibility for resolving this crisis as a matter of the greatest
urgency, even while the African Union has an important role.

Salih Booker, Executive Director of Africa Action, said today, "While we
commend the African Union for its efforts to address the Darfur crisis,
we must recognize its real limitations. The African Union does not have
the resources to lead a strong and urgent intervention in Darfur, though
it can form an important part of such an international response. A
robust military force is required to stop genocide and restore security
to the region, and there is an urgent need for the US and other military
powers to join with the African Union in providing leadership to make
this happen NOW."

Booker continued, "If the UN and its member states decide tomorrow to
push the burden on to the African Union to stop this genocide, they will
in effect have washed their hands of the world’s worst humanitarian
crisis because it is occurring in Africa. The UN acknowledges today that
an increased international presence is needed in Darfur immediately, and
it must take action tomorrow to ensure this need is met."

He added, "How many Sudanese have to be killed before the most powerful
nations act?"

This week, Africa Action supporters sent almost 40,000 messages to the
15 members of the UN Security Council, calling on them to take action in
response to the failure of the Sudanese government to comply with the
demands laid out by the international community at the end of July. The
email messages called on the members of the Security Council to
immediately authorize an international intervention to stop the violence
in Darfur, to secure the region and to facilitate a massive humanitarian
effort to save millions of lives.

Today, people from the Darfur region living in the U.S. traveled from
around the country to New York for a rally and protest at the UN
building, urging the UN to take action to stop the genocide in Darfur.

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