When I saw news reports that the government of Sudan had "arrested" a militia leader indicted by the International Criminal Court over a year ago, I confess that I was at first optimistic -- perhaps this was a sign that Khartoum, not wanting to give up its president, was actually considering real concessions. Fortunately, I also read Opinio Juris, where Kevin Jon Heller has helpfully exposed what turned out to be some rather lazy journalism on the part of the BBC and The New York Times. The wanted man, known as Ali Kushayb, may or may not be "in custody," as the headlines proclaim; what the reports neglect to mention is that Sudan has been trumpeting Kushayb's detainment for over two years now.
To be fair, the usually reliable Jeffrey Gettleman did include -- albeit buried near the end of the article -- a quotation from a Darfur analyst skeptical that this "news" amounted to anything more than "another ploy by Khartoum to buy some time." However, Gettleman should have expounded more on his Sudanese government source's reiterated refusal to hand Kushayb over to the ICC, as well as his revealing comment that Sudan was still "investigating [Kushayb] to see if he has committed crimes in Darfur or not." Without an actual intention to relinquish Kushayb, Sudan's judicial processes are simply operating as usual, meaning that little has changed, and there is no real "arrest" to report.
The British -- whom some have criticized, along with the French, as possibly overly willing to suspend ICC jurisdiction in Sudan -- have recently specified quite vigorously that any suspension would require Sudan to issue not "just nice words...[but] a whole set of really bold actions." Announcing the arrest of an indicted war criminal who may or may not have been in custody for over two years does not exactly amount to a "bold action."
The Secretary General unceremoniously terminated the mandate of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission this week. The commission was formed as part of the 2000 Algiers Agreement that ended the bloody border skirmish between the two countries. Per the agreement, both sides agreed that the commission's ruling on the proper boundary between Ethiopia and Eritrea would be binding and final. In April 2002, the Commission issued its final ruling, which awarded the disputed town of Badme to Eritrea. Ethiopia refused to abide by the ruling and a stalemate ensued.
Injected, literally, in the middle of this stalemate were some 4,000 UN Peacekeepers deployed to the United Nations Mission to Ethiopia-Eritrea, known as UNMEE. Over time, Eritrea grew increasingly frustrated by the international community's inability to press Ethiopia into living up the the Algiers Agreement. It expressed this frustration in an unhelpful way by harassing UNMEE. Last spring Eritrea cut off fuel supplies to the peacekeepers, and UNMEE was forced to withdraw and shutter its operations.
The termination of the boundary commission was really just a formality. In effect, the stalemate that persists today began when one party to the conflict refused to live up to its previous agreement--and the international community refused to prop up the commission. The losers in all of this is the vulnerable population living near the re-militarized border. They have already suffered enough. But without peacekeepers acting as a buffer, the conflict is poised to reignite.
(Photo of an Eritrean refugee from Flickr)
James Lamond offers a good rundown of the recent diplomatic back-and-forth between Washington and Pyongyang. The moral of the story: diplomacy may produce imperfect results, but even these can be preferable to a stubborn refusal to negotiate with one's adversaries.
In this edition of UN Plaza, Daryl Kimball of the Arms Control Association and I discuss the troubled state of the global non-proliferation regime. These efforts were made more difficult, according to Kimball, by the recent nuclear technology deal between the United States and India. We discuss.
"HORN OF AFRICA AT A CRITICAL STAGE," proclaims the very prominent headline on the homepage of United Nations World Food Program. The urgency is not without reason, as a statement released by Oxfam today underscores.
Facing a "perfect storm" of drought and rising food prices, the number of people in Ethiopia in need of emergency assistance has jumped from 4.6 million to 6.4 million in less than four months. This would be bad enough, but there are 7.2 million additional Ethiopians who receive only some small support from their government.
From Oxfam's statement: "Today's figures, terrible as they are, show only half the picture. Over 13.5 million Ethiopians are in need of aid in order to survive. The number of those suffering severe hunger and destitution has spiraled. More can and must be done now to save lives and avert disaster," said Oxfam's country director, Waleed Rauf.
Namely, donor countries can step in and provide the $260 million needed for aid efforts in the country. WFP has only received a third of the funds it needs to deliver food, and, without further support, it will likely have to scale back operations to even more dangerous levels.
Watch this video for more.
UPDATE: Aid agencies say that the number of people in need is even worse.
You may recall that in the Vice-Presidential debate, Governor Palin came down hard against the Government of Sudan and even recommended a no-fly-zone over Darfur. Since then, the intrepid ABC news investigative team discovered that "Palin owns up to $15,000 in Legg Mason International Equities, which the McCain-Palin campaign specified is the Legg Mason International Equity Fund. That Fund owns shares in two companies the Genocide Intervention Network labels 'highest offenders' because, in that organization's judgment, they empower the government of Sudan at the expense of the country's marginalized populations."
Upon learning of the Legg-Mason-Sudan connection, a McCain-Palin spokesperson said that the Governor will divest from the fund. This sets a great example. Thanks, Gov.
(The following was originally written in August 2008.)
Commentators looking to explain the recent Russo-Georgian conflict by analyzing American foreign policy have found no dearth of candidate provocations. America's support for Georgian membership in NATO, its recognition of Kosovo's independence, and its open planning to install missile defense programs in Eastern Europe all likely contributed to Russia's willingness to exert its influence in the region by force. By and large, however, these speculations have focused on the proximate causes of the past few months. The most significant American contribution to instability in Georgia, however, may actually have occurred some 15 years ago--and its story provides more resounding lessons for U.S.-UN policy than it does for U.S.-Russia relations.
The UN Security Council yesterday extended the mandate of the small, unarmed UN observer mission in the Abkhazia region of Georgia, where violence between Russia and Georgia in early August has created an unclear situation for the future of the province. This ambiguity is the reason that the Security Council's reauthorization of UNOMIG, as the mission is known, is for a provisional four months, instead of the customary twelve. And while the 134 UN military observers can continue to play a small role, it is as yet uncertain who will be doing the actual peacekeeping.
Mr. Ban noted that it seemed unlikely that the Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) peacekeeping force in the Abkhazia region would have any role in the separation of forces between the two sides, and it was still unclear what arrangement, if any, would fulfil this function. "Under these circumstances, it is too early at this stage to define the role that UNOMIG may play in the future," he told the Council. "But as long as international involvement in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict is seen as helping to prevent future conflict, UNOMIG may be called upon to make a contribution. In this respect, I have received formal indications from the Georgian and Abkhaz sides that they support the continuation of the Mission."Since the outbreak of conflict in Abkhazia some 15 years ago, the principal peacekeepers have been Russian and Georgian troops. Why, one might legitimately wonder, was a more robust United Nations peacekeeping presence not established early on in this tense stand-off? I wrote this piece about a month and a half ago to answer that question -- and to point out why a little bit of foresight, along with more consistent support for UN peacekeeping, can go a long way in preventing fragile scenarios like the one in Georgia today.
Former Finnish President and career peacemaker Martti Ahtisaari.
Ahtisaari is perhaps best known in UN circles for the "Ahtisaari Plan" for a stable, self determining Kosovo. But he has had a long career as a peace negotiator and conflict manager. From the Washington Post
The Nobel committee cited the "significant part" he played in resolving the Aceh crisis, a success which came on the heels of a tsunami that had devastated the province and other parts of Indonesia. That was only a recent success in a long career of mediation that included efforts in Kosovo, Namibia and more recently in Northern Ireland, where he helped inspection weapon's caches as part of efforts to disarm the Irish Republican Army. The [conflict management nonprofit he founded] also has been active trying to improve security for United Nations personnel in Iraq. "Throughout his entire adult life, Ahtisaari has worked endlessly to solve several long-lasting conflicts," said Ole Danbolt Mjoes, chairman of the five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee. "He's an outstanding international mediator. His efforts and achievements have demonstrated the important role of mediation in solving international conflicts." Ahtisaari, in a radio interview quoted by the Associated Press, said he felt his work in Namibia was "absolutely the most important" negotiation he helped manage. Then a South African-occupied territory, Namibia was the scene of a decades-long conflict between South African troops and the South West Africa People's Organization, a liberation movement that drew support from neighboring Angola.Congratulations, Mr. Ahtisaari. A well deserved award! (picture from Flickr)