Malloch Brown’s last push for Darfur

Mark Malloch Brown, the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, has frequently sparred with the administration of George W. Bush, but in Brussels this week (2-3 October) he was a conduit for the US president’s thoughts.

One of the subjects for Malloch Brown’s talks in Brussels was what to do about the war in Darfur, which has claimed at least 200,000 lives in the last three years. Malloch Brown went into discussions with the European Commission with the words of President Bush embossed across a green plastic wrist-band.

"Not on my watch…save Darfur," it read, echoing the words reportedly scribbled by Bush on a piece of paper after reading an article about the Rwandan genocide.

For Malloch Brown, there may not be much of ‘his watch’ left. Many observers expect him to step down ­after the appointment of a new secretary-general in succession to Kofi Annan (see box), but he is trying one last push to stop what the US administration has called genocide in the western Sudanese province.

The Sudanese government recently refused to accept a UN peacekeeping force to replace an ill-equipped and ill-trained African Union force which has been in Sudan since January 2004, but which has largely failed to stop the violence, despite being reinforced in 2005.

The African Union is so short of resources that it owes $6 million (€4.7m) for catering services for its troops. Rations are said to be under threat.

Malloch Brown’s trip to Brussels was part of a concerted effort to bring the international community together to put pressure on the government in Khartoum.

"Maybe because I am a UN diplomat I essentially believe that diplomacy is about pushing rational ­arguments, with a little bit of showmanship, to their natural conclusion," he said.

He said pragmatism was needed to speed the deployment of a more robust force.

"We need to get this done really quickly. Every week that goes by without this agreement getting sealed, translates into a longer pipeline before you get deployment. Really large numbers of lives are at risk."

He welcomed the EU’s latest efforts to break the impasse.

As part of a wider diplomatic offensive, Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Louis Michel, the commissioner for ­development and humanitarian aid, travelled to ­Darfur this week to press the Sudanese authorities for an agreement.

According to diplomats, Barroso delivered the message with suggestions that the EU could be more flexible than some of its member states have indicated in public.

Barroso told the Sudan­ese that the EU could agree, at least in the interim, to extend and reinforce the African Union mission, without deploying a fully fledged UN force immediately.

According to Malloch Brown, the message is an important one.

"At this stage, as important as what is said is who says it. We have to break this idea that this is just a narrow western concern. The Sudanese have to see that this is a common front across the whole international community."

"The EU is important because I suspect that [the government in ­Sudan] sees differences of emphasis even within ­Europe. If Barroso can narrow those differences and give a sense of demonstrating a common Europe anxiety and ­urgency, then that is key."

But Malloch Brown admitted that substantial EU military involvement will not be possible due to political sensitivities in Khartoum.

"NATO members [have been] an overwhelming minority of UN troops since the Balkans until Lebanon. In general, western countries have been very sparing in the troops they would put into UN peacekeeping operations. The overwhelming body of our troops are ­Indian, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Jordanians.

"A European force in Darfur is a non-starter probably, because of the huge sensitivity, at least toward the UK but also the US. It may change, maybe they will say that the best way to do this is a continental European force or something, but I doubt it."

Despite Barroso’s visit, it also remains unclear if the EU will back sanctions if the Sudanese government continues to block the establishment of an UN force. "We discussed the option of sanctions in September, but some member states thought that it was premature," ­explained one diplomat.

According to Malloch Brown such sanctions may need to be considered.

"At the moment [the ­Sudanese] are a bit bold because they have got this oil boom, they have got new energy partners, they feel immune to international pressures. The truth is… an oil-rich country, with a political elite that wants to engage with the world is very vulnerable to economic sanctions and very vulnerable to indictments from the [International Criminal Court]."

Replacing Kofi Annan

Korea’s Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon is in line to become the next United Nations secretary-general replacing Kofi Annan who steps down on 31 December.

During a secret ballot of the countries of the UN Security Council on Monday (2 October), Ban’s candidature was not vetoed by any of the five permanent members of the council, paving the way for the general assembly to vote on his appointment on Monday (9 October).

The ballot extinguishes the hopes of the one EU contender and only woman candidate, the Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, who came third with five votes in favour, four abstentions and six votes against. There were two Security Council vetoes, thought to be from China, which has campaigned for the next secretary-general to be Asian, and Russia, which continues to have poor relations with its Baltic neighbours.

The Security Council currently has five EU members; France and the UK, which have veto powers, and non-permanent members Denmark, Greece and Slovakia.

Even before the ballot, it was widely expected that the next secretary-general would be selected from among Asian candidates.

If appointed, Ban would be the first Asian in more than 30 years to take up the secretary-general’s post. His most serious rival, India’s Shashi Tharoor, has now pulled out of the race.

Mark Malloch Brown, the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, has frequently sparred with the administration of George W. Bush, but in Brussels this week (2-3 October) he was a conduit for the US president’s thoughts.