Gordon Brown’s joint article with Nicolas Sarkozy, published today in The Times and Le Monde, on Franco-British efforts in Darfur should, of course, be welcomed.
Last month’s UN resolution authorising the deployment of peace-keeping troops was a triumph for the new leaders. In Sarkozy’s case, it is a particularly pleasing sign of a more active French foreign policy (which is explored and welcomed in this week’s Economist). But Gordon Brown cannot try to portray himself in the same fresh light as M. Sarkozy. The genocidal conflict which Mr. Brown has made a foreign policy priority has been raging since 2003, with up to 400,000 people killed, and a further two million displaced. (If you haven’t already seen it, EyesOnDarfur.com makes stark use of satellite images to illustrate the horror of the conflict.)
Mr. Brown has been at the heart of the British Government since well before the present crisis in Darfur began. It is right that he should redouble his efforts, and the course of action he and President Sarkozy have outlined today is a sensible one. But there are many other things we could, and should, have done long ago. In April, the Shadow International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell called for tough, immediate action to hit the Sudanese regime – such as enforcing targeted sanctions against its leaders by freezing their bank accounts and applying travel bans to stop their lavish shopping trips to Paris and London. Similarly, chipping away at the network of businesses and charities that enrich the regime and its members might not have won quick headlines, but would have had a palpable effect.
So before Mr. Brown pens his next update for the international press, it would be good to see some progress on this front.
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the internation community should be more proactive in dealing with the situation in Darfur. we should not only send food aids but we also need to influence the political policies in the Darfur region `