As a critical pledging conference begins today in Brussels, Amnesty International urges that the current African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) is reinforced so that its troops can start effectively protecting civilians in Darfur. Despite the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement in May 2006, and the deployment of AMIS since June 2004, the humanitarian crisis in this area remains catastrophic, with abuses against civilians continuing on a massive scale. “Amnesty International supports the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force with a strong mandate, but in the meantime it is vital that AMIS is strengthened, so that it can begin to provide effective protection,” said Dick Oosting, Director of Amnesty International’s EU Office. The organization has presented ten recommendations aimed at ensuring that a peace keeping force in Sudan is prepared and capable of protecting civilians (the briefing paper Download PDF attachement |