UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council has finally passed a resolution authorizing a peacekeeping force in Sudan's embattled western Darfur region, a contingent of up to 20,600-strong unit if you count 3,300 civilian police personnel.
The measure was approved Thursday 12-0, with China, Qatar and Russia abstaining.
But, the peacekeepers cannot be deployed until Khartoum, which objects to a U.N. peacekeeping force in Darfur, approves.
The measure, "invites the consent of the (Khartoum) Government of National Unity for this deployment."
The three abstaining nations said they agreed with the resolution but opposed its approval without Sudan's acceptance of such a force.
There already is the U.N. Mission in Sudan, a peacekeeping force of more than 9,000, helping to implement the 2005 peace accord in the south of the vast country. But it is an African Union operation and its mandate and money run out Sept. 30.
Many nations believe a continued presence is necessary, as witnessed by the measure approved Thursday.
Ambassador Nana Effah-Apenteng of Ghana, this month's council president, said the South Sudan peacekeeping operation has not "compromised the sovereignty or territorial integrity" of Sudan.
The Khartoum government has voiced just such a concern in the past.
The latest resolution comes amid mounting alarm since a Darfur peace accord was signed in May at the deteriorating conditions inside Darfur, a region roughly the size of France on Sudan's western flank that has been beset by war and massive displacement since 2003.
Washington has said the fighting in Darfur among rebels, government-sponsored militias and government forces amounts to genocide. The United Nations stops short of calling the deaths of well over 200,000 people and displacement 2 million people genocide.
Washington also has been saying there is a huge military build-up in Darfur in recent weeks and fears more fierce fighting.
The deployment also concerns U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
He sent to members of the Security Council Thursday his Aug. 25 response to Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir's Plan for the Restoration of Stability and Protection of Civilians in Darfur.
"I am seriously concerned that the key measure proposed in the plan, in particular the deployment of a large number of Sudanese troops to Darfur, could aggravate the crisis and would be in breach of Security Council Resolutions," he said. "Such deployments would suggest an overall approach that amounts to seeking a military solution to the Darfur crisis. The proposed military measures would also contravene the letter and spirit of the Darfur Peace Agreement."
The secretary-general also said "the plan fails to provide for the envisaged transition from AMIS to a U.N. operation in Darfur," referring to a draft version circulated Aug. 17 of the resolution approved Thursday.
"The United Nations remains convinced that the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping operation would be the most appropriate approach to achieving lasting and sustainable peace in Darfur and that only such an impartial peacekeeping fore, with adequate resources and capacity, can effectively support the implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement," Annan said in the letter to al-Bashir.
The co-authors, and primary sponsors of the measure, Britain and the United States, wanted Resolution 1706 approved Thursday because it is the last day an African nation, Ghana, holds the presidency of the panel of 15. Greece takes over the chair in September.
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton has said it was felt to be more appropriate to have such a measure considered during the presidency of an African nation, rather than a European country.
Effah-Apenteng, the council president, refuted any suggestion this meant an end to dialogue between the Khartoum government and the United Nations.
He said after the vote "this resolution does not close the door" on continued negotiations with the Sudanese government for deployment of the force.
The council has scheduled a meeting on Darfur for Sept. 8 and invited high-level officials from the Sudanese government, the League of Arab States and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to attend.
Asked about the reference in the draft resolution to the need for consent, the Accra envoy said Wednesday 2 million people are currently suffering in Darfur, and "the lives of these people should weigh heavily on the minds of everybody."
