Tories call for action in Darfur

Conservative party calls for government to match rhetoric on Darfur with action in region.

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Tuesday, 01, Jan 2008 11:32

The Conservative party has called for the government to match its rhetoric on Darfur with action in the region.

Speaking on the day on which the African Union (AU) hands over the international peacekeeping force to a joint AU-United Nations (UN) force, shadow international development secretary Andrew Mitchell has criticised a perceived lack of action from prime minister Gordon Brown.

The UN Mission in Darfur (Unamid) force was intended to put 26,000 troops on the ground but only 9,000 will begin operations tomorrow, 7,000 of which were already part of the AU force.

And Mr Mitchell has attacked the prime minister for failing to make good on his pledges to impose tough sanctions on the Sudanese government.

"For far too long the government of Sudan has sought to disrupt and delay the effective deployment of a protection force in Darfur," he explained.

"The UN and European Union should now set clear benchmarks and a clear deadline for the imposition of sanctions, unless the UN-AU force is allowed to deploy in full. The sanctions should include asset freezes and travel bans on key figures in the government of Sudan and on rebel leaders who impede the deployment of the force.

"Britain should help to secure helicopters for Unamid through financial and diplomatic support. The fact they won't be British assets because none are available does not remove the need for British effort to help obtain them."

Since the current Darfur conflict began in 2003, more than 200,000 people are thought to have been killed and 2.2 million forced to flee their homes.

Mr Mitchell claimed that "2008 promises to be another year of hot air and dithering from the international community" unless the government steps up diplomatic pressure against the Sudanese government as well as enhancing its efforts to involve civil society and rebel groups in the peace process in Darfur.