28/10/2013 00:00
TW
0

by MONITOR
THE signs are that the planned UN peace conference on Darfur, due to take place in Libya today, will achieve very little. The conference was called to bring together the many interests involved in the Darfur crisis in anticipation of the arrival early next year of the 26'000 strong UN-African Union peacekeeping force in place of the 7'000 African Union peacekeepers who have been struggling against impossible odds. Although the UN Security Council approved the formation of this force several months ago and African countries have pledged troops for it there remains real doubt whether it will be able to begin work as soon as intended.

The two most influential rebel groups in Darfur have said they will not attend the meeting. The Sudan Liberation Army, which commands the biggest following among refugees, refused despite pressure from Britain and France on the grounds that talks should not take place until the peacekeepers are in place; the Justice and Equality Movement, also influential, has also decided not to attend. Meanwhile, as ever, the Sudanese government continues to find ways of blocking progress, the latest being a veto on Thai and Nepalese troops for the peacekeeping force because their countries are “too Western”.

It is an uphill struggle but in the interests of the millions of displaced and abused refugees the UN has no alternative to continuing to try to find a solution.