Letter to the Editor, Independent, 19th July 2006

With Darfur poised on a knife-edge, the international response remains confused, inadequate, timid and criminally negligent. While the UN lacks the will to intervene and the African Union lacks the means, Britain should play a meaningful role in this colossal spiral of misery that has engulfed the region for three and a half years and robbed 400,000 lives.

The case for the urgent deployment of a strong, mobile, fast-reacting UN force in Darfur to protect civilians and keep aid channels open is beyond dispute. Although Security Council adopted Resolution 1706 passed two weeks ago called on the secretary-general to arrange for the rapid deployment of the UN Mission in Sudan, this was conditional on the basis of the acceptance of the Sudanese government. They have said no, and vowed to emulate Hezbollah in Lebanon and smash any incoming force.

Between a rock and a hard place, aid agencies remain the sole life line for some 2.5 million people who swell camps for displaced people. But the deliberate targeting of aid workers since the signing of an unpopular peace deal in May has lead to the deaths of 8 humanitarians in July alone.

And worse is to come with the Sudanese government this week renewing aerial bombing and sending thousands of troops to the region.

Unless Khartoum drops objections to a United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur, most if not all foreign aid organisations are likely to pull out of Darfur, leaving its already devastated civilian population further exposed and at risk.

Britain has the armed muscle and has made clear its willingness to join a UN-sponsored response unit. The question is whether the UK and other nations will act now to prevent further tragedy in Darfur or merely express sorrow and act later to deal with its aftermath. The onus is on them to go it alone and put the lives of the most vulnerable before anything else.

Yours sincerely,

JOHN O’SHEA