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11 January 2005

Wolf Praises Sudan Accord, Castigates U.N. Over Darfur

Lawmaker suggests Annan resign to protest U.N. inaction

By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington – Representative Frank Wolf (Republican of Virginia) praised the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement for Sudan but tempered his remarks with a warning that the United Nations faces a critical test in dealing effectively with continued violence in Darfur.

“If in the year 2005 the Security Council cannot deal with genocide, the raping of women, and the systematic burning of villages now occurring, then I believe it is fair to ask:  ‘What purpose is the U.N. serving in the 21^st Century?’” Wolf said.

The lawmaker, along with Representative Donald Payne (Democrat of New Jersey), attended the January 9 signing of the peace agreement in Nairobi, Kenya, that promises to end a civil war between the Muslims in the northern part of the country and the Christians in the south, a conflict that many observers had written off as hopelessly irresolvable.

Having just returned from Kenya, Wolf told a January 11 Washington news conference, “This is an historic moment for the people of Sudan.  The signing of this agreement [which took three years and was facilitated by the U.S. State Department] has ended Africa’s longest running war, a brutal civil war, which spanned the last 21 years, claimed the lives of more than 2 million people, and left most of the country in despair.”

He added, “I want to commend all the countries that played a critical role in the peace – particularly Norway.  President Bush and Secretary [Colin] Powell should be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.”

All parties to the signing “must now live up to the agreement and begin the task of rebuilding the lives of millions of people,” Wolf told journalists.

While hopeful on the North-South peace, Wolf was less sanguine about ending the ongoing violence in Darfur, where militias backed by the Khartoum government continue to attack a largely defenseless population -- many of whom have crowded into the same disease-ridden refugee camps that the lawmaker visited last summer.

Wolf said, “Last Friday U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported that the situation in Darfur continues to deteriorate and that the government of Sudan has violated the previous Security Council resolutions by failing to disarm and prosecute the Jingaweit [militias].”

The United Nations has sent a Commission of Inquiry to Darfur to investigate if genocide has occurred there, when in fact, Wolf said, most of the world now believes that genocide has occurred and is still occurring.  Wolf added, “It is time for the United Nations and the international community to respond in a meaningful way.”

With that in mind he said, “I ask Secretary-General Annan to go back to Darfur to confirm with his own eyes that the situation has not improved.  Secretary Annan should then make bold recommendations, and call on the Security Council to immediately implement them.”

Wolf said, “As a son of Africa” [Annan is Ghanaian] and a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Annan should use his “power and prestige to make a passionate plea to the Security Council to deal effectively on Sudan.”

The U.S. lawmaker said he cringed at the thought of girls in Darfur “being raped practically before our eyes” and declared, “We cannot continue the status quo.  If the Security Council fails to take meaningful action, Secretary Annan should resign in protest.”

Wolf said he understood this was “an unusual request to make but I believe these actions could turn the world’s attention back to Darfur.  Resigning out of protest is an act of great moral leadership and the world would respect his actions.”

Asked by the Washington File if following such an indictment it might not be appropriate to think about an American heading up the United Nations [the United States is the organization’s largest single donor] Wolf said, “I think it might be a good idea,” but reserved judgment until the anticipated completion of an in-depth analysis of the operation of the United Nations by the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) that was authorized by the U.S. Congress.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)