Never Again is Again: Stand Up Against Genocide in Africa

There are approximately 7,000 African Union (AU) troops in Sudan right now, whose purpose is to provide protection for humanitarian workers. This works out to just over 3 soldiers for every 100km of land. Comparatively, there are currently 11 soldiers for every 100km of land in Bosnia, 10 years after the conflict ended. Some estimate that 44,000 troops would be needed for any effective patrolling and protection of the area.

Their main focus is Southern Sudan, and supporting the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). These troops have a mandate that is supported by the Sudanese government in Khartoum, but it is a weak mandate, and must be renewed every six months. And so, while one may argue that providing better resources for the AU troops would provide an avenue through which to pursue peace in the Darfur region, there are several problems.

First, they are not in the Darfur region; second, they are unable to plan for the long term because they do not have the resources. Third, the AU mandate allows troops to protect humanitarian workers only. This means that, for example, if an AU soldier were to witness a Darfuri civilian being raped and beaten, he would not be able to defend that person under the mandate. Finally, should the AU prove effective, it is likely that the Sudanese government would not renew the mandate at the end of the next six month period. The likelihood of this last scenario would not likely occur anyway; the AU is VERY supported of national sovereignty, for reciprocity purposes.

[Note: Many of these statistics were provided by experts at the Failing, Failed & Fragile States Conference, held at the University of British Columbia in March, 2007.]

- sara