William Hague MP: Darfur cannot afford another year of dithering from Brown and the UN

William Hague MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary, sets out the next steps that urgently need to be taken by the international community on Darfur.

On Tuesday, US Film Director Steve Spielberg resigned from his position as an adviser to the Beijing Olympics, helping re-focus the world’s attention on Darfur.

And re-focus we must. With problems in Kenya, Pakistan and Afghanistan, our planet has all too many urgent concerns. But we cannot turn a blind eye to what is going on in Darfur.

The scale of the crisis that has unfolded, and continues to unfold, in that part of the world is staggering. Over four million people are dependent on food aid. Over 200,000 have been killed. And in the past 10 months alone, more than 250,000 more Darfuris have fled their homes.

Ethnic cleansing, killings and rapes. We’ve been here before: in the Balkans and in Rwanda. We said never again – but it is happening all over again. The international community must now come together and bring an end to this killing.

In particular, Gordon Brown needs to treat this issue with the urgency it requires. This is a time for the British Prime Minister to show bold and decisive leadership. When he came to office, Gordon Brown pledged that Darfur would be at the top of his foreign policy priorities. And we were promised action and a determined effort with President Sarkozy to bring about the deployment of a robust international peacekeeping force and broker peace on the ground.

Seven months have elapsed. During that time, other problems have crowded in on the Prime Minister and he seems to have forgotten about Darfur. And his promised action to put a halt to this horror has not been delivered. Just 9,000 of the projected 26,000 peacekeeping troops are in Darfur. The Sudanese government continues to refuse the approval of deployment of non-African soldiers. And there is a chronic shortage of the transport helicopters the force needs. What’s more, according to the UN Special Envoy for Darfur, many of the rebel groups fighting the Sudanese government still refuse to participate in peace talks and a dangerous link between Sudan and rebel forces in Chad has now been established.

But it’s not just Gordon Brown that seems to have forgotten about Darfur. This week, at his speech in Oxford, the Foreign Secretary David Miliband spoke at length about humanitarian intervention. How many times did he mention Darfur? Not once.

Now is not the time for forgetting. It’s the time for swift, decisive and resolute action. Of course, the British Government cannot do it all alone. China must also dramatically step up its efforts to stop this slaughter – that, after all, is why Steven Spielberg made his protest. We are not advocating a boycott of the Olympics, or using sport as a political weapon.  But China, more than any other major power could make a change.

Of this can there be no doubt. China is the major economic, military and political partner of the government of Sudan. It is also a major world power with the seat at United Nations Security Council. It has the wherewithal, the duty and the self-interest to contribute to ending the crisis in Darfur.

And there are, to be fair, some signs that China is starting to understand that the bigger its stake in the world, the bigger its interest in preserving global peace and stability. Over the last decade China has been quietly adjusting its diplomacy. Fifteen years ago, Beijing was wary of multilateral arrangements and using diplomatic muscle. Since then, it has joined the World Trade Organization, contributed troops to serve in United Nations peacekeeping operations and become more helpful on issues regarding non-proliferation. As we have seen with North Korea, Chinese pressure has been critical in making Pyongyang knuckle down to negotiations over its nuclear weapons.

But let’s not kid ourselves. When it comes to Darfur neither the Chinese Government nor so many others have done enough to halt the killing. China may need Sudanese oil – but Sudan needs China’s trade and investment. So China has huge leverage over Khartoum, and it should be using it, as both David Cameron and I have urged in our talks with Chinese leaders. 

What we need now is a clear plan of action, comprising the following five elements:

First, as we have advocated for over a year, it is essential to establish a no-fly zone to protect the citizens of Darfur from attack by Sudanese aircraft. This would be difficult and would be challenging, but it is crucial to saving lives.

Second, the UN and EU must start to impose further sanctions if the UN-AU force is not deployed in full. These sanctions should include asset freezes and travel bans on key figures in the Sudanese Government and on rebel leaders who impede the deployment of the force.

Third, the UN Security Council should expand the existing arms embargo to cover the whole of Sudan.

Fourth, Britain should launch a major drive to secure additional helicopters for the UN African Mission in Darfur, using the diplomatic leverage at our disposal.

And fifth, Britain should give every support to the International Criminal Court in identifying, indicting and prosecuting those Sudanese officials and others implicated in the horrors unfolding in Darfur, so they face to justice for their crimes.

The people of Darfur cannot afford another year of diplomatic hot air and dithering from the international community. They are paying for it with their lives. David Miliband has lauded ‘the great progressive project for spreading democracy around the world’. The people of Darfur want to be able to live to see that day.

Comments

[Moral minority]

How about a similar radical policy for Zimbabwe? It is time to invade, capture and try Mugabe and remove his regime. If we had backed the Smith regime, Rhodesia would not be such a basket case.

[Kate Bollinger]

Well done William. I'm so glad the Party is keeping the torch burning on this issue and not just retreating to Tory foreign policy issues like Zimbabwe (see above) and Gibraltar.. as important as they are!
I don't want Darfur to be this generation's Rwanda, but I'm hearing all the same excuses from the government and UN.
It's a shame that by necessity we're bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan- we could have done something about Darfur ourselves if we were not so overstretched there!!

[Andrew Lilico]

We could do something in Dafur if we really wanted to. But we've been seduced by the (racist) mirage of "African solutions for African problems". Hague's plan is just more talk and "pressure". Dafur has been going on for years now. When something almost identical happened in Kosovo, we were in there within weeks. What's the difference, other than that in Dafur the victims have dark skin, not pink, and are Christian, not Muslim?

We should have gone in long ago. Every day that passes without decisive action is a day of shame.

[Ay Up]

Well said William. This is one area in which Brown's persistent dithering could be costing lives.

WWBD?

What Would Blair Do?

[Jennifer Wells]

I hope to God someone in power heeds this message from William Hague. The tragedy in Darfur shames all of us.

[Tony Makara]

Moral minority, I agree that Zimbabwe is a problem that needs to be addressed too. Mugabe is leading his people into economic meltdown and any opposition is met with government sanctioned violence. Zimbabwe keeps being put on the back burner by politicians.

[Umbrella man]

Tony and MM are right about Zimbabwe but we cannot do everything and the loss of life in Darfur has been so much greater.

I hope Mr Milliband listens to Mr Hague on this one.

Does anyone know where McCain/ Clinton/ Obama stand on Darfur?

[Ruth]

I'm assuming Gordon Brown has a reason for not having already carried out the actions William Hague suggests. What are his reasons?

[activist]

Darfur may not be on Brown's radar, but thanks to Mr. Spielberg it's currently taking up a great chunk of the six o'clock news. One of the planks of Cameron's new Conservatism is the emphasis on human rights. Hague shows once again he is a world-class politician. But of a contrast with Milliband minor.

[Mark Fulford]

William, is Britain still able to significantly influence its allies? I suspect that Brown and Miliband are not keen on revealing to the nation that one film director has more international clout than their bankrupt government.

Also, your five point plan requires significant military hardware -- which would probably have to come from China. Do you think it's sensible to encourage China to see itself as the world’s policeman? I find it a scary prospect!

[Alex Deane]

This is a great and brave position from our foreign affairs spokesman and I hope that it is heeded. I agree with all 5 of your steps, Mr Hague. However, a sixth step is needed, isn't it - i.e. what to do when China ignores your first five...

[Gnosis]

Its a shame mr hague couldn't have said this BEFORE mr cameron went on his much hyped recent tea drinking visit to CHINA,does it really have to take a film director and nobel prize winners to get us to take action?

[Oberon Houston]

1) Establishing a no fly zone would indeed be difficult. The surrounding area is hostile to. There is no way the North African countries would support this, and Chad is a long way away. Khartoum would then ground humanitarian flights and the UN would ban its flights.

2) China has supplied weapons to Sudan and vetoed UN resolutions. No joy there I think - but keep the pressure on China diplomatically

3) & 4) Yes good ideas - the African mission need mobility and there is no real reason why we cannot give them full logistic support.

[Oberon Houston]

... I should have also said this. The conflict is largely about over population as arable land turns to dessert which is causing conflict along tribal lines. There is little doubt that this a result of global warming, and therefore Darfur one might argue is simply a taste of things to come. Who was it that said a anarchy is only two meals away? Churchill I think?

[rightsideforum]

Nonsense William Hague. Be a nice little politician and just admit you don't have the balls to do the only thing that would prevent the genocide out there - sending in a US/UK coalition or launching air missions to bomb strategic targets.

It's a sad day when Conservative politicians are pushing out Liberal foreign policy agendas - ANYTHING BUT CONFLICT.PEACE AT ANY PRICE.

Basically, nobody really cares, or at best, they do but don't think it is politically worth it to do anything sustantive about it.

[Oberon Houston]

Kenny Everett.

[Adrian Owens]

Sorry to take issue with you rightsideforum. It is surely correct to take the less aggressive steps advocated by William Hague before the more aggressive ones you put forward (leaving aside the fact that thanks to Labour's defence cuts we are hardly in a position to join the US in the course of action you suggest).

What William Hague is highlighting is the failure of our government and other powers to use their muscle to halt the slaughter. Andrew Mitchell was calling for the same measures in his New Year Message so we are hardly bandwagon jumping.

Cynics will say there are no votes in it for us in any case. That may be so, but doing what is right is more important and ultimately I believe that the electorate respond to a party with clear principles.

[Samuel Burke]

William Hague and Andrew Mitchell have been resolute in their advocacy of the gross human rights abuses taking place in Darfur. The Conservative Party have been ahead of the game (the Government and Mr. Speilberg, at least) in calling for an end to investments from China and elsewhere, which is funding the atrocities in Sudan (see EDM 1338, William Hague's contribution to the Queen's Speech Debate). This is a bold and thoroughly humanitarian stance, which the defies the oft-advanced argument that the Conservatives are just interested in the commercially detrimental implications such a policy may cause. But as Sharansky's critique of this "economic stance" demonstrates, it is at best short-sighted, at worst renders Governments complicit through their financial contributions and thus moral indifference.

The grotesque fact that the killing, homelessness, rape, malnutrition and other profound indignities continue is a source of shame and reproach to us all. I congratulate William Hague on this blog, and I hope he will continue and redouble his efforts to ameliorate this bleak and hellish situation.

[Rod Sellers]

All very worthy I am sure but how about putting as much effort into sticking up for democracy in Britain. While agonising over Dafur our own national sovreignty is being 'raped' while Parliament sleeps.

[rightsideforum]

Adrian Owens, I hear your response - but ultimately it is too little too late.

Hundreds of thousands of people are DEAD. They have been RAPED and BUTCHERED. And for what?

The Sudanese regime is in part bankrolled by the Chinese, amongst others. There is little we could do 'diplomatically' that would change things.

The AU has made nothing short of a disgraceful effort to do anything and once again, genocide has been carried out while our politicians dither and do nothing but offer platitudes and rhetoric.

I'm afraid our politicians continue to come at this issue from the political angle instead of the human. We need someone to be bold and tell it like it is. In other words, we need a Churchill. We really don't have one.

And please don't let it seem that I have any problem with William Hague - I actually have an enormous ammount of respect for him, and he would have been my ideal party leader.

[Mr Angry]

Let's stop the self congratulations on having finally said something vaguely meaningful on Darfur. For far too long this mass murder and ethnic cleansing has gone on without seeming to bother us Tories too much and what Hague is proposing is, in his Bilderberg way, not going to achieve very much on the ground. The sad truth about Darfur is that the world didn't and doesn't care enough to take the substantive action that would halt the genocide mainly because it is Muslims perpetrating the evil and not appearing to be the victims of it.

[Sally Roberts]

I am pleased that William has spoken out in his usual measured, considered and thoughtful way! Some of you feel there is no point in his speaking out but do you not think that the more the shameful subject of Darfur is placed on the agenda, the more it will be imprinted on our collective consciousness and action will be taken?! Shame on Gordon Brown for doing nothing - but then this is the true face of Labour. They are very good at "talking the talk" when it comes to Africa but not so good at "walking the walk"!

[Sally Roberts]

Mr Angry - you are wrong, much of the world DOES care and would like to do something about the evils being perpetrated but we need to look to leaders to show the way! As for your comment about William Hague - it seems Bildebergers can't win in your view, whatever they do - on one hand they are a powerful shadowy group which apparently runs the world - but on the other "what Hague is proposing is, in his Bilderberg way, not going to achieve very much on the ground".... make up your mind!

[Oberon Houston]

William, been looking into this some more and I've changed my mind on this. The real problem is the 'desertification' of nomadic arab tribal lands, leading to population pressure and conflict. Unless this is solved any amount of action will be of little use as in the end lots of people will die regardless. Further, we cannot intervene on this directly as the western company who used to run the oil fields (Talisman Energy of Canada) was forced out by political pressure in the US.

Now we have the Chinese there who bought them out and now control the oil. We are in a much harder place as a result. We therefore need to pressure the Chinese to put pressure on the Khartoum - not sure how this can work. The lesson here is that be careful what you wish for. Forcing western companies out of conflict areas gives an opportunity for countries with a much higher tolerance of oppression to move in. Result? We have accelerated the killing and misery and removed any leverage and influence we had.