The United Nations Security Council approved a Chapter 7 resolution to invoke a 26,000 member peacekeeping force in Sudan. The joint African Union (A.U.) -United Nations contingent will consist of nearly 20,000 military personnel and close to 6,500 civilian police to replace the battered 7,000 member A.U. force deployed in Darfur. A Chapter 7 resolution permits the use of force by U.N. peacekeeping forces for self-defense, the protection of civilians, and to ensure the movement of humanitarian assistance. It will be the largest peacekeeping mission in the world.
Britain's prime minister, Gordon Brown, was lobbying for passage of the resolution at the United Nations in New York and made it a key message when he met with the U.S. president earlier this week. “The message for Darfur is that it is a time for change,” Brown said at the U.N. yesterday. The Sudanese government has stated that it views the resolution as “practical”, citing the removal of economic sanctions from the final resolution.
In addition to watered down penalties against Sudan, the peacekeeping forces are limited in their abilities to monitor rebel supplies. They are not allowed to seize or otherwise remove illegal weapons from use. The resolution states that peacekeeping forces may only monitor the weapons. The resolution was passed unanimously.
After years of negotiations and false starts, this resolution may signify some political will on the behalf of U.N. member states to intervene. However, four years have passed since the most heinous acts were committed and the violence was at its apex. The time to intervene has long passed. Additionally, the deployment of such a large multinational force faces obstacles in deployment and the derivation of military personnel.
Some 200,000 people have been killed in the conflict in Sudan since 2003, with close to 2.5 million displaced.
