Daily Darfur: Simply Unacceptable

The New York Times is taking a harsh line against international inaction on Darfur in an editorial today:

"The world has long declared its revulsion at the atrocities committed by Sudan’s government and its proxy militias in Darfur and done almost nothing to stop it. It took years of political wrangling to get the Security Council to approve a strengthened peacekeeping force with deployment set for Jan. 1. More than 11 months later, the Security Council has managed to send only 10,000 of the promised 26,000 peacekeepers. Large-scale military attacks against populated areas continue."

And it doesn't stop with the US--the piece goes on to blast China, Russia, the African Union, and the Arab League for protecting and enabling "Sudan's cynically obstructionist president," whose engagement in the Qatar-led peace process it accuses of being insincere--mere "theater," rather than serious commitment to conflict resolution. (A sentiment echoed on this site, many times.)

The editorial hits the metaphorical nail on the head, articulating the palpable frustration pulsing through the Darfur movement. For all of the uplifting talk of human rights this week, in commemoration of the 60th anniversaries of the UN Genocide Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it's hard to look at our record and claim that we've accomplished much in the way of promoting these principles. Self-congratulations by the international community for these documents is sorely, sorely misplaced.

Passing the buck?

In a message that I hope was laden with sincere regret over his own missed opportunities, President Bush commemorated Human Rights Day by urging the U.S. to keep pressure on Sudan to end the genocide in Darfur.

"The United States must continue to rally the international community to put pressure on the government as well," Bush told reporters.

Bush also warned Sudan's leader Omar al-Beshir that he "cannot escape accountability" on Darfur, underlining "if he so chose, he could change the peoples' lives, the conditions of peoples' lives very quickly."

He also expressed frustration at the snail's-pace deployment of UNAMID peacekeeping troops. Bush's comments came after a meeting with Darfuri survivor, author, and activist Halima Bashir.

A bipartisan consortium of members of Congress also marked Human Rights Day by speaking out on Darfur--this time, by sending a white paper with recommendations on jump-starting the stalled peace process to President-Elect Barack Obama.

“Today marks the 60th anniversary of the General Assembly of the United Nations’ adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said. “While we commemorate the occasion, we note the tragic irony that in places all over the world, the basic principles in this document are not upheld. One such place is Darfur, where I traveled with 10 colleagues last year. Today, we’ve joined together once again to send President-elect Obama a series of recommendations on how we can work together to end this horrific conflict and restore peace and security to this troubled region. We look forward to working with the new President on this important effort.”

This needs to be a Day One priority for Obama. It's beyond unacceptable that this conflict has gone on for 5 years.

Interesting item of note...

An op-ed in the International Herald Tribune discusses why the use of rape in Darfur constitutes a crime of genocide.

A reminder to think of Darfur at Christmastime in the Minneapolis-St.Paul Star Tribune.

[Photo: President George W. Bush meets with Darfur human rights activist Dr. Halima Bashir, left, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Dr. Bashir is covered to protect her identity from those who may seek reprisals against her for her activism.]