United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recently recommended the deployment of up to 11 000 peacekeepers to Chad and neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR) to help protect the population from growing violence in the region. Both Chad and CAR share borders with the Sudanese region of Darfur, and the triangle where the three countries meet has become a lawless haven for rebels and other militia.
Aid workers are now warning that Chad could become the next Darfur unless urgent action is taken to stop the inter-ethnic violence that is sweeping the eastern part of the country. Almost 120 000 Chadian civilians have now been displaced after attacks on their villages.
The situation in eastern Chad is particularly dire. It is home to almost a quarter of a million Sudanese refugees from Darfur, and the regular influx of displaced Chadians is stretching scarce resources to the limit.
“We are facing an extraordinary situation as more than 230 000 refugees, who fled attacks in Darfur in 2003 and 2004, are joined by thousands of Chadians fleeing a new wave of fighting at home,” Roland van Hauwermeiren, head of Oxfam in Chad, said in a statement.
Ending the violence is now a priority for the UN, which says that the predominantly Arab on non-Arab attacks are similar to those in Darfur. Most attacks are carried out by Arab militia on horse- and camel-back who storm villages, shoot at civilians and loot cattle and food.
The UN is keen to send a peacekeeping force to eastern Chad, to protect refugees and camps for internally displaced people, and provide a safe passage for aid workers. But the presence of Chadian rebels, whose frequent clashes with the Chadian army have also done much to destabilise this region, could complicate matters, especially as the UN troops would not have a mandate to intervene.
“It is very complex,” admitted Matthew Conway of the UN refugee agency. “But this is why it is so urgent that some kind of protection force be put in place as soon as possible to stop this from reaching the level that we’ve seen in Darfur.”
Unlike in Darfur, where Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir refuses to accept foreign troops on Sudanese soil, Chadian President Idriss Deby has indicated he would welcome UN soldiers to his country and has spoken publicly about the need for international help.
But as the UN Security Council mulls over whether to send in a force, there are signs that the president is stalling. “It seems Deby is swinging back and forth — his position is no longer stable,” a UN source said. “Up until last autumn he was always very clear that he could not ensure security in the east. But now that it appears that help could actually come, he’s hesitant.”
“The force would be multidisciplinary. You’d have military, police, human rights experts and political advisers all walking round eastern Chad, and that’s the last thing Deby wants. The political advisers will be pushing him to enter a political process, but he simply does not want dialogue.”
Other observers point out that Deby could be concerned about what peacekeepers will observe as the battle between rebels and government forces plays out in this border region. “He’s worried about what they will witness,” said a diplomatic source in N’Djamena. “He doesn’t want people to know what’s really happening with all the fighting — it could be very embarrassing for him.”
But even if Deby lets troops come in, the mission may not be straightforward. “The UN has to be very conscious that this is an extremely high-risk mission,” the source added. “The UN does not want to be discredited any further — especially after Darfur — but things could get very messy.”
SA’s Africa spend
African renaissance and International Cooperation Fund:
With a budget of R150-million in 2006/07 and an allocated R300-million in 2007/08, the fund is the department of foreign affairs’s most expensive programme in Africa, paying the bills for everything from post-conflict reconstruction projects to training assistance. In recent years, expenditure has included R278- million in support of elections in the DRC, R10-million for support of the peace process in Burundi and R30-million for the reconstruction of infrastructure in Sierra Leone.
African Union:
South Africa continues to be a key supporter of the African Union. Total support to the organisation will increase from 8,3% to 15%, or about R165-million by 2009/10.
New African Partnership for Economic Development:
Funding for Nepad has remained steady for the past three years, at R30-million. It is due to increase to about R36,6-million this year.
Pan-African Parliament:
South Africa is home to the Pan-African Parliament. In 2007/08 the budget for activities related to the Parliament is set at R113-million.
Regional security:
South African troops and security personnel are deployed in Sudan, Burundi, the DRC, and Côte d’Ivoire. In 2007/08 costs for regional security are budgeted at R858-million, most of which is accounted for by South African troops with the UN mission in the DRC and the detachment in Burundi.