The troubled joint force of United Nations peacekeeping and the African Union to the western Sudanese region of Darfur (UNAMID ), with few troops and helicopters, was much criticized for its cost, which is unusually high.
is "scandalous" to spend 2,000 million dollars a year to maintain the UNAMID when the urgent needs of the continent are on the other hand, said the president of the Commission
ng (executive branch) the African bloc, Alpha Oumar Konare.
.
Konare, former president of Mali (1992-2002), said in a debate at the UN that "really regrets" the "spending enormous amounts of money on preventing conflicts that could be used to meet development goals" unreached in Africa.
.
Unamid The huge budget, one of the largest in the history of peacekeeping missions the UN is "scandalous," he said. Anyway, the key to solving the problem of Darfur is "in us," he said.
. Konaré
admitted, in that sense, the problems of peace and security on the continent were "African ownership".
.
"We create institutions and we must give them the power and means to take appropriate and timely," he told reporters on October 10.
.
Ambassador to China, a key ally of Sudan, Wang Guangya, said last month the Security Council of the UN that "poverty and underdevelopment are the root causes of the problems of Darfur."
.
By its very nature, he said, "This is a development issue."
.
also Guangya quoted UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, who said "disputes over water are the main cause of the conflict in Darfur ".
.
" Just improving the lives of the people of the region will eliminate the cause of the clashes and improve safety, "the Chinese envoy.
.
But the United States "genocide" the massacres occurring in Darfur.
.
The UN estimates that the conflict in that region, which has lasted four years, killed over 200,000 civilians and left more than 2.2 million refugees and displaced persons.
.
The new UNAMID hybrid force, which began operations on December 31, 2007 and is perhaps the biggest peacekeeping mission in the world, will have an initial mandate of 12 months and incorporates the former African Union Mission in Sudan, stationed there since 2004.
.
The budget of 2,000 million dollars exceeds the UNAMID peacekeeping mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo, from 1,100 million dollars a year.
.
Of the 20 peacekeeping missions undertaken by the UN today, eight are in Africa: Burundi, Ivory Coast, Chad and Central African Republic, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Liberia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Western Sahara and Sudan.
.
For now, UNAMID has only 9,000 troops and has few helicopters and lacks sufficient ground support equipment.
.
The African Union of 53 members, claims to be primarily responsible for the resolution of conflicts on the continent. The Sudanese government insists that UNAMID troops should be virtually all African.
. Khartoum has already rejected
troops from Norway and Sweden and expressed reservations to the participation of battalions from Nepal and Thailand.
.
When the Security Council approved the establishment of UNAMID, to 26,000, in late July 2007, predicted that the force should have "a predominantly African character," recalled the UN undersecretary general for peacekeeping operations, Jean Marie Guehenno.
.
"Having a force that is of a Africa is another matter entirely, "said Guehenno." There are many reasons which make necessary a greater combination of soldiers "in different regions, said
.
The UN Secretariat expressed its willingness to" prioritize the deployment " strength of two African nations, Egypt and Ethiopia, "with the understanding that the Asian units deployed in a timely manner."
.
The lack of key support to UNAMID, including ground and air transport, diplomatic and political participation with stakeholders and cooperation of the recipient country, "exacerbated" the operational and logistical difficulties with which they must already handle the mission because it is a remote and inhospitable territory, Guehenno said the Special Committee on peacekeeping missions of the UN.
.
There is more support for peacekeeping missions, he added, but "the pendulum interest and lack of support from the international community made it difficult to keep the objectives in key areas of conflict."
.
The total budget for peacekeeping missions, down from 2,000 million dollars in 2003, can exceed U.S. $ 7,000 million in 2007-2008, three times the global forum for a year, told the same committee Deputy General Secretary of support in the field, Jane Holl Lute.
.
Most of 7,000 million dollars are earmarked for UNAMID.
is "scandalous" to spend 2,000 million dollars a year to maintain the UNAMID when the urgent needs of the continent are on the other hand, said the president of the Commission
ng (executive branch) the African bloc, Alpha Oumar Konare. .
Konare, former president of Mali (1992-2002), said in a debate at the UN that "really regrets" the "spending enormous amounts of money on preventing conflicts that could be used to meet development goals" unreached in Africa.
.
Unamid The huge budget, one of the largest in the history of peacekeeping missions the UN is "scandalous," he said. Anyway, the key to solving the problem of Darfur is "in us," he said.
. Konaré
admitted, in that sense, the problems of peace and security on the continent were "African ownership".
.
"We create institutions and we must give them the power and means to take appropriate and timely," he told reporters on October 10.
.
Ambassador to China, a key ally of Sudan, Wang Guangya, said last month the Security Council of the UN that "poverty and underdevelopment are the root causes of the problems of Darfur."
.
By its very nature, he said, "This is a development issue."
.
also Guangya quoted UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, who said "disputes over water are the main cause of the conflict in Darfur ".
.
" Just improving the lives of the people of the region will eliminate the cause of the clashes and improve safety, "the Chinese envoy.
.
But the United States "genocide" the massacres occurring in Darfur.
.
The UN estimates that the conflict in that region, which has lasted four years, killed over 200,000 civilians and left more than 2.2 million refugees and displaced persons.
.
The new UNAMID hybrid force, which began operations on December 31, 2007 and is perhaps the biggest peacekeeping mission in the world, will have an initial mandate of 12 months and incorporates the former African Union Mission in Sudan, stationed there since 2004.
.
The budget of 2,000 million dollars exceeds the UNAMID peacekeeping mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo, from 1,100 million dollars a year.
.
Of the 20 peacekeeping missions undertaken by the UN today, eight are in Africa: Burundi, Ivory Coast, Chad and Central African Republic, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Liberia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Western Sahara and Sudan.
.
For now, UNAMID has only 9,000 troops and has few helicopters and lacks sufficient ground support equipment.
.
The African Union of 53 members, claims to be primarily responsible for the resolution of conflicts on the continent. The Sudanese government insists that UNAMID troops should be virtually all African.
. Khartoum has already rejected
troops from Norway and Sweden and expressed reservations to the participation of battalions from Nepal and Thailand.
.
When the Security Council approved the establishment of UNAMID, to 26,000, in late July 2007, predicted that the force should have "a predominantly African character," recalled the UN undersecretary general for peacekeeping operations, Jean Marie Guehenno.
.
"Having a force that is of a Africa is another matter entirely, "said Guehenno." There are many reasons which make necessary a greater combination of soldiers "in different regions, said
. The UN Secretariat expressed its willingness to" prioritize the deployment " strength of two African nations, Egypt and Ethiopia, "with the understanding that the Asian units deployed in a timely manner."
.
The lack of key support to UNAMID, including ground and air transport, diplomatic and political participation with stakeholders and cooperation of the recipient country, "exacerbated" the operational and logistical difficulties with which they must already handle the mission because it is a remote and inhospitable territory, Guehenno said the Special Committee on peacekeeping missions of the UN.
.
There is more support for peacekeeping missions, he added, but "the pendulum interest and lack of support from the international community made it difficult to keep the objectives in key areas of conflict."
.
The total budget for peacekeeping missions, down from 2,000 million dollars in 2003, can exceed U.S. $ 7,000 million in 2007-2008, three times the global forum for a year, told the same committee Deputy General Secretary of support in the field, Jane Holl Lute.
.
Most of 7,000 million dollars are earmarked for UNAMID.
.
Thalif Deen
IPS
IPS
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