Daily Darfur: A Deaf Ear and a Blind Eye

Darfuri human rights activist Salih Mahmoud Osman turns the spotlight back on China for protecting and enabling Khartoum's military campaign in Darfur:

"China has been undermining the lives of millions of people of Darfur for a long time by siding with the Sudanese government and through aerial bombardments caused by Chinese helicopter gunships. In the UN Security Council, China has blocked resolutions on Darfur.

"China today has the monopoly over our resources and its economic interests are undermining basic human rights and dignity in Darfur. It has moral, legal and ethical responsibilities towards the whole international community. But instead, China turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to gross violations like genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

"The people of Darfur, the survivors, are very much surprised that China is against their interests. I hope China will review its policy. The humanitarian situation in Darfur is overwhelming to the extent that everybody everywhere in the world is supportive of the case of Darfur, except China."

The focus on China, at least in terms of media coverage, seems to have fizzled out along with the momentum created by the Summer Olympics in Beijing, though it's still a factor on the behind-the-scenes diplomatic level. This presents an interesting challenge for advocates: How do you sustain momentum behind complicated and interrelated components of a conflict through changing political circumstances? Public attention on political issues is incredibly fickle and often frustratingly narrow, but it is critical need to sustain pressure on the issues key to resolving conflict and genocide/mass atrocity situations.

I find the statement that "the people of Darfur, the survivors, are very much surprised that China is against their interests" incredibly sad.

UNSG on UNAMID

An end-of-year assessment of UNAMID bemoans the lack of progress is deploying and equipping the joint UN/AU peacekeeping force in Darfur--much to the detriment of civilian protection.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon "says violence and displacement continue, humanitarian operations are at risk, clashes between the parties occur with regrettable regularity and the parties have not yet reached a negotiated peace agreement.

"He also reiterates his appeal to those that are in a position to provide mission-critical capabilities to do so without delay, and he noted that pledges for a multi-role logistics unit, a medium transport unit, a heavy transport unit, an aerial reconnaissance unit, light tactical helicopters, and 18 medium-utility helicopters are all still outstanding.

"The fighting in Darfur continues, innocent civilians still suffer, UNAMID and humanitarian personnel are under threat, and the parties have failed to seriously pursue a political solution."

The first deployment of a new contingent of Ethiopian peacekeepers joined the force yesterday--good news, as always, but more countries need to step up and offer support. The international community has shown a shameful lack of resolve, essentially setting UNAMID up to fail by not properly outfitting its own force to fulfill the mandate it was given.

As a letter to a local paper points out, another key issue is the government of Sudan's obstruction of UNAMID's deployment.