The International Crisis Group has released its latest report on Darfur. They write:
Unless concerted action is taken against the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), Khartoum will continue its military campaign, with deadly consequences for civilians, while paying only lip service to its many promises to disarm its Janjaweed militias and otherwise cooperate. No one can guarantee what will work with a regime as tough-minded and inscrutable as Sudan's, but patient diplomacy and trust in Khartoum's good faith has been a patent failure. The international community has accepted the responsibility to protect civilians from atrocity crimes when their own government is unable or unwilling to do so. This now requires tough new measures to concentrate minds and change policies in Khartoum.
To "concentrate minds," the ICC report offers some suggestions that I'm sure many on Capitol Hill would support:
On 31 August, Security Council Resolution 1706 authorised a UN mission of at least 20,600 troops and police to deploy to Darfur with a Chapter VII mandate allowing the protective use of force. Sudan's consent for this deployment, which would replace the over-stretched African Union (AU) force, is only "invited" not required, but troop contributing countries are unwilling to take part if Khartoum does not agree. Getting Khartoum to agree means upping the international pressure with four measures: * applying targeted sanctions, such as asset freezes and travel bans, to key NCP leaders who have already been identified by UN-sponsored investigations as responsible for atrocities in Darfur, and encouraging divestment campaigns; * authorising through the Security Council a forensic accounting firm or a panel of experts to investigate the offshore accounts of the NCP and NCP-affiliated businesses so as to pave the way for economic sanctions against the regime's commercial entities; * exploring sanctions on aspects of Sudan's petroleum sector, to include at least bars on investment and provision of technical equipment and expertise ; and * planning to enforce a no-fly zone over Darfur by French and U.S. assets in the region, with NATO support; obtaining Chad's consent to a rapid-reaction force on its Sudan border; and, if everything else fails to change government policies and the situation worsens, contingency planning for non-consensual deployment of 40,000 to 50,000 peace enforcers to Darfur. The U.S., UN, AU and European Union, should act together to the greatest extent possible but as necessary in smaller constellations and even unilaterally.