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No Power To Protect: Conclusion

No Power to Protect

CONCLUSION

AMIS has come a long way since it was established over a year ago. The AU should be commended for stepping into a breach where Western powers have had little appetite to go. With assistance from the U.S., EU, NATO and others, the AU has managed to pull together a mission that has provided a level of security and deterrence.

The situation in Darfur is deteriorating, with no political resolution in sight. For better or for worse, Darfur civilians have only AMIS to protect them right now; this is a choice that has been made by the entire international community. Therefore, NATO member states and member states of the UN Security Council, particularly the United States, which has identified the crisis in Darfur as genocide, have the responsibility to ensure that AMIS is as strong and capable as it needs to be. This includes providing enough funds for all equipment, logistics, accommodation, deployment, and capacity-building needs. It includes exerting pressure on the AU member countries and the Government of Sudan to strengthen AMIS’ mandate, as well as on the Government to free up equipment that has already been donated and to move towards disarming the Janjaweed. For their part, if AU member countries want the AU to be a major force in peacebuilding on the African continent in the future, they need to commit to AMIS by contributing more troops.

Nevertheless, all of these measures are relatively short-term ones. AMIS has been able to deploy troops when no one else has been interested. This has undoubtedly assisted in the stabilization of Darfur. In the long-term, Darfur requires a wider integrated peacekeeping mission, under the auspices of the United Nations; as has been the case in the past, this can be best achieved by building on the base that AMIS, and its Western partners, have already established.

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