What are UN Resolution 1769’s weaknesses?
The language is somewhat vague on the mandate to protect civilians and on UNAMID’s command-and-control structure. It will be necessary to maintain political pressure on all relevant parties to ensure the strongest possible interpretation of these sections of Resolution 1769. There is no mention of the violence which has spread from Darfur into eastern Chad and the Central African Republic. UNAMID has no provisions for halting aerial assaults from Khartoum, and therefore no authority to disable aircraft implicated in attacks on civilians or found to be in violation of any cease-fire agreement. The number of troops may yet prove inadequate, given the sheer size of Darfur, a region as large as Texas.
