BIDEN Issues Statement on One-Year Anniversary of UN Commitment to Send Peacekeepers to Darfur
July 31, 2008
Washington, DC - Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-DE) issued the following statement on the one–year anniversary of the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769, authorizing the deployment of 26,000 peacekeepers and police to protect the people of Darfur:
“One year ago today, the United Nations Security Council told the people of Darfur that it would act, at last, to end the genocide in Darfur. But as of today, only about a third of the authorized forces are on the ground in Darfur, and those troops lack the means and the mobility to carry out their mission. The Sudanese government has continually blocked the shipment of crucial supplies, and has been allowed to prohibit some nations from contributing troops to this effort. The international community, in the meantime, has fallen short of critical commitments for equipment, especially for helicopters. This has to end. The United States has led the way in providing humanitarian assistance and training for African peacekeepers, but we and the rest of NATO and all other capable nations must step up to provide these forces with the helicopters and other tools that will give them the mobility to do their jobs. We must also take steps to end Sudan’s effective blockade of badly needed supplies for the peacekeepers’ and their camps. The people of Darfur have been suffering for five years. Over 300,000 people have lost their lives. Over 2.5 million have been driven from their homes. We cannot let the months and years continue to tick away while they continue to suffer.”
