State's Frazer Tells Sudanese President U.N. Force Is Necessary
29 August 2006
U.N. resolution to approve expanded force in Darfur expected August 31
Washington -- Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer delivered a message from President Bush to Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in Khartoum August 29 and urged Sudan to agree to expansion of the African Union peacekeeping force under the auspices of the United Nations.
“We believe that it's important that Sudan accept this force and move forward with the implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement,” State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters in Washington August 29.
Casey said Assistant Secretary Frazer “made a very clear case of what U.S. policy is,” and that President Bashir “certainly listened to what she had to say.” Casey also said it was “important that Frazer was received rather warmly by Bashir at his personal residence.” (See related article.)
Frazer stressed the continued U.S. support for the African Union and humanitarian operations in the Darfur region, as well as the need to “expand it and make it stronger to be able to implement the Darfur Peace Agreement,” Casey said.
In response to President Bush’s message, the Sudanese leader said he would be sending an envoy to Washington to convey his direct response to the president.
“I would expect we are talking within the next couple weeks,” Casey said.
According to press reports, Bashir has voiced his opposition to the deployment of U.N. troops, but has praised the presence of the African Union force in Darfur.
However, Casey said: “[T]here already is a United Nations force in Sudan. It is helping with the implementation of the North-South Agreement.” He added international forces also are present in Darfur under the African Union’s mandate.
“The Darfur Peace Agreement specifically calls for a strengthening of those forces and an expansion of them to be able to implement the agreement,” he said, adding that it is “very clearly” in the interest of the Sudanese people “to see that there's a force sufficiently strong to be able to implement and help them implement” the agreement.
“This is an agreement that the government of Sudan has signed on to,” Casey said.
The deputy spokesman also said the United Nations Security Council is moving forward with a resolution calling for the expanded force to implement the peace agreement.
A State Department official speaking on background August 29 said the existing 7,000 member African Union force in Sudan would form the basis of the expanded force, similar to how the international peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, is being augmented with more soldiers after the recent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
The African Union troops also would retain leadership of the expanded force, the official said.
Speaking at the United Nations in New York August 29, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton said there is a formulation in the draft resolution “that will win acceptance on the council and achieve the objective we've been seeking, which is the early transfer of responsibility in Darfur to the United Nations.” (See related article.)
The members of the Security Council agree that, “the African Union mission was at the limit of its capacity, and because of the fragility of the Darfur peace agreement … a U.N. force would be more suitable,” Bolton said, adding that the African Union itself and the parties to the Darfur peace agreement have endorsed that decision.
“I think the circumstances in Darfur, the deteriorating conditions, the increase in fighting, the risks that the Darfur Peace Agreement itself will break down -- all of which, I think, leads everybody to believe that we need a stronger, more mobile, more agile force,” he said.
According to press reports, the Security Council is seeking a force of more than 20,000 to succeed the African Union mission in Darfur. As for timing, Bolton said “as soon as possible remains our objective. October 1 or as soon as possible thereafter.”
Emyr Jones Parry, the U.N. ambassador from the United Kingdom, which is jointly drafting the resolution with the United States, told reporters at the United Nations that the goal is to get the resolution adopted August 31 while Ghana still holds the presidency of the Security Council.
“I think council colleagues understand why we really do need to act,” Jones Parry said August 29.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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