Global Policy Forum

By Gethin Chamberlain

Sudan yesterday accepted a United Nations proposal for an expanded multi-national force to be sent to Darfur - then immediately tried to curtail the troops' ability to protect the civilian population from fresh attacks. The plan, put forward by UN secretary general Kofi Annan's special envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk, called for monitors to be present throughout the region, 24 hours a day, to prevent escalation of conflict and insecurity. But that fell short of British and United States demands for a 3,000-strong force of African Union peacekeepers mandated to intervene to protect the 1.3 million people driven from their homes by what Mr Annan has described as a "scorched -earth policy", and those still living in fear in their villages.

The proposal, along with a damning report on Sudan's failure to comply with the security council's previous demands, was presented to members of the council at a meeting in New York yesterday. The council had given Sudan 30 days to disarm the Arab Janjaweed militia which it has used in a campaign of ethnic cleansing against black African farmers.

Sudan's UN ambassador, Elfatih Mohamed Erwa, said his government had "no problem" with the monitoring force spelt out by Mr Pronk: "Whether it is 300 or 3,000, if it helps, that's fine," he said. But he then went on to restate Sudan's opposition to an international force with an expanded mandate that would allow it to disarm militias or other groups, claiming that could lead to military confrontations.

Mr Pronk told the security council that an expanded international force could help cut the level of violence - which is reported to have claimed up to 50,000 lives - and enhance the protection of civilians in Darfur. He said it must do more than just investigate past incidents. "Pro-active monitoring will help to prevent such an incident from taking place," he said. Monitors must "be on the spot, wherever such incidents might occur, 24 hours a day, also in the camps" and they must "act as mediator in order to help prevent escalation of conflicts and insecurity". Mr Annan's report, published on Wednesday, made it clear that Sudan had failed to protect its own population from militias despite its assurances that it would do so.

Yesterday, Mr Pronk told the council the Sudanese government should seek international assistance if it could not fully protect its citizens by itself, and he made it clear that the UN believed Khartoum needed help because it had failed to stop attacks against civilians in Darfur or to disarm the militias. But that drew a rebuke from John Danforth, the US ambassador, who said it should not be up to the Sudanese government to decide whether it can protect citizens.

"The fact of the matter is - and I think Mr Pronk agrees with this - the citizens of Darfur have absolutely no confidence that the government of Sudan will protect them," Mr Danforth said. "I believe that all of the international pressure on the government of Sudan right now has to be focused on the expanded African Union presence. I think without that kind of pressure, the government of Sudan will do its usual job of trying to float through this thing." Mr Danforth also complained that Mr Pronk had not stated that "the government of Sudan has been directly involved in military action against civilian villages in Darfur, including within the last week".

The US and Britain had pushed for a tougher line against Sudan when the security council passed its original resolution demanding action from the Khartoum regime, but opposition from a number of countries, including Russia and China, saw off attempts to back up the resolution with the threat of sanctions.

Mr Annan's report documented numerous attacks against civilians which had taken place after the security council passed its resolution. It also highlighted incidents in which Sudanese government forces were said to have been involved. But yesterday, Mustafa Osman Ismail, Sudan's foreign minister, said he was optimistic that the security council would recognise its achievements in improving the humanitarian and security situation in Darfur.

"The obligations which the government of Sudan was asked, we already fulfilled it maybe by more than 70 to 80 per cent, so it will be very difficult even for those who want to condemn Sudan. They will find it difficult to ignore these achievements," he said.

The security council must now debate the report and decide whether Sudan has done enough to stave off further international intervention.