Brown, Sarkozy call for "decisive action" on Darfur
The prime minister and the French president said that 20,000 peacekeepers would start work in Darfur in the next few weeks
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Friday, 31, Aug 2007 07:29
Prime minister Gordon Brown and French president Nicolas Sarkozy have urged the international community to take "quick and decisive action" to bring peace to Darfur.
In a joint article appearing in the Financial Times, the leaders said that while progress had been made in the form of the deployment of a joint peacekeeping force, the situation in the strife-torn area in the west of Sudan "remains completely unacceptable".
They urged the international community to renew their efforts to stop the conflict there, which has seen thousands killed.
"[T]here is still a gap between the efforts pursued by the international community and the dramatic situation that remains on the ground," the pair said.
"The troop deployment is only one stage in the process of bringing peace, and we cannot wait a moment longer for intense international action to secure a ceasefire. That is the reason why we are determined and fully committed to step up our actions over the crisis in Darfur and the region," Mr Brown and Mr Sarkozy explained.
The British and French leaders said the UN resolution on Darfur was just a "starting point" and called for efforts from the international community that looked to the long term progress of the area beyond a ceasefire.
"[O]ur plans go beyond the ceasefire, which cannot on its own resolve such a complex conflict. We need a political settlement that addresses the root causes of the violence and allows Darfur to participate in national elections in Sudan in 2009."
"If progress is not made on security, the ceasefire, political process and humanitarian access, we will work together for further sanctions against those who fail to fulfil their commitments, obstruct the political process or continue to violate the ceasefire," they said.
The two leaders acknowledged that the security situation in Darfur had regional implications and promised to address Sudan's "longer-term development needs" once peace had been restored.
They stated that French secretary of state for foreign affairs and human rights, Rama Yade, and British Foreign Office minister, Lord Malloch-Brown, will visit the country in the next few days.
The leaders added that 20,000 peacekeepers and nearly 4,000 police would start operations to maintain peace in the troubled area in the next few weeks.