U.S. Says Sudan Is Intimidating Troop-Contributing Countries
05 October 2006
Ambassador Bolton requests Security Council meeting on Sudan
United Nations --The United States requested an emergency Security Council meeting on Darfur to discuss what U.S. Ambassador John Bolton called an "unprecedented" attempt by Sudan to intimidate countries considering providing troops for a U.N. peacekeeping mission there.
The Security Council held the unscheduled private meeting October 5 to discuss its response to a letter sent by the government of Sudan to several nations that had been asked by the United Nations to contribute police personnel for an unspecified mission. The United States did not receive a letter, but was given a copy by others who had.
"This is an unprecedented assertion by a government that is about to be the beneficiary of an extended U.N. peacekeeping mission," Bolton told journalists before the meeting. "Attempting to intimidate potential troop-contributing countries and to assert that a humanitarian mission to prevent genocide in Darfur is a prelude to an invasion ... is a direct challenge to the authority of the Security Council in its efforts to alleviate the tragedy in Darfur."
Bolton quoted the Sudanese letter as saying that ”in the absence of Sudan's consent to the deployment of U.N. troops, any volunteering to provide peacekeeping troops to Darfur will be considered as a hostile act, a prelude to an invasion of a member country of the U.N.”
"This clearly requires a strong response by the Security Council," the ambassador said.
The United States submitted the draft of a presidential statement, and council members were scheduled to meet later in the day at the so-called "experts level" to review the document.
In the meantime, Security Council President Kenzo Oshima of Japan called in Sudan's envoy to the United Nations for an explanation. Sudan's letter "was inappropriate in language and tonality," Oshima said.
The African Union (AU) has been leading a peacekeeping mission in Darfur but has said that it is unable to continue. In August, the Security Council authorized the expansion of its U.N. Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) -- which is underpinning the peace agreement in southern Sudan -- by 20,000 troops and police to take over peacekeeping duties in Darfur. However, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has refused to allow the United Nations to take over from the AU. (See related article.)
If Sudan's letter is allowed to stand unchallenged, Bolton said, "it could well mean the complete failure of the UNMIS extension to Sudan even before it begins. If no one volunteers to contribute forces to the Darfur mission, there won't be one, no matter what the Security Council does. That is why it is such a direct challenge to the council's resolution."
If the stalemate between the United Nations and Sudan continues, or the situation worsens, "those who are concerned about the tragedy in Darfur will have to ask whether other possibilities have to be pursued," Bolton said.
For further information, see Darfur Humanitarian Emergency.
(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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