A year ago today, people around the world gained hope that change was coming to Darfur. After four years of killings, rape, and destroyed villages, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to deploy a joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force, known as UNAMID, to protect the people of Darfur.

One year has passed, and the world community has failed to deliver the basic support the mission needs to succeed.

One key gap in the force’s capability is its lack of helicopters, which can enable the force to operate effectively and react quickly. The force is seeking a mere 18 transport helicopters, but so far, no country has stepped forward to provide even one.

A new report compiled by an aviation expert titled “Grounded: The International Community’s Betrayal of UNAMID,” presents data on which countries have suitable helicopters and the number available for deployment to Darfur.

Read the report and an AP article covering this issue to learn more.

Click here to urge the Permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to fulfill their promise to the people of Darfur.

The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 at 8:16 am and is filed under Peacekeeping, United Nations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.