THE UN’s head of peacekeeping will travel to Chad next week to discuss the future of the UN mission there, which includes some 400 Irish troops, after the Chadian government requested that its mandate not be renewed.
Speaking before his visit, Alain Le Roy told reporters that the UN Security Council is “very much interested in maintaining [the mission] on the spot. That’s also our point of view . . . But of course we have to take into account the views of the authorities of Chad.”
The UN mission, known as Minurcat, replaced a UN-mandated EU force last year. Both missions were tasked with protecting refugees and displaced Chadians as well as facilitating humanitarian assistance.
Last month, Chad’s president, Idriss Déby, demanded that Minurcat withdraw when its current mandate expires on March 15th, claiming the country’s security forces could now provide security in its restive eastern flank.
Chad’s ambassador to the UN, Ahmad Allam-Mi, argued this week that there was a “new context” in the region and he claimed the historically tense relations between his country and Sudan had improved.
But the UN’s humanitarian chief, John Holmes, maintained the mission was still needed. “We think they’re very important for the safety and security of the people in the camps, the civilians in general and for the humanitarian operation,” he said. “We really fear the consequences if the force were withdrawn.”
Human Rights Watch has warned that withdrawing the mission would expose civilians in eastern Chad to increased violence and human rights abuses. It noted the situation remained volatile, and argued national elections in Sudan scheduled for April, and national parliamentary elections in Chad scheduled for November, could cause tensions to rise.
“This is the wrong time to leave,” said Georgette Gagnon, the human rights group’s Africa director. “If the peacekeepers leave now, at this critical and potentially volatile time, they could expose civilians to more danger and human rights abuses.”