IAGS Resolution on Intervention in Darfur

We, the leadership and membership of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, a world-wide professional association of experts on genocide, call upon the United Nations to authorize a coalition of member states to organize and deploy a robust armed intervention force in Darfur, Sudan, in order to stop the ongoing war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and genocide being perpetrated by Government of Sudan troops and Janjaweed Arab militias against Black African ethnic groups in Darfur.

In order for the intervention to be effective -- and not another fiasco as the international community witnessed in Rwanda in 1994 and again in Srebrenica in 1995 -- the mandate must come under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, and include authorization not just to observe atrocities but to use armed force to prevent them 䴋 to protect the lives of civilians who are in danger of attack or who need protection to return to their homes in Darfur.

We urge that the African Union, European Union rapid response force, Standing High Readiness Brigade, and other regional and national forces provide a minimum of 12,000 heavy infantry, logistical, communications, and airborne troops for this mission. The mission should be quickly provided with all necessary financing and equipment -- in good working order -- and supplies, including fuel, spare parts, medical support, food, and water. The troops should have armed air support, heavily armored vehicles, and weapons with adequate ammunition to stop Government of Sudan and Janjaweed attacks on civilians. If the Sudanese air force continues to attack civilian villages, the U.N. should authorize imposition of a No-Fly Zone over Darfur, except for U.N. authorized aircraft, to be enforced by the air forces of U.N. member states.

We strongly urge that this intervention mission be undertaken as soon as possible. As each day goes by, five hundred more people are dying in Darfur.

Proof of the effectiveness of such a mission should be based upon the following criteria:

1. An end to all attacks by Sudanese troops and Janjaweed militias in Darfur, and cessation of violent attacks by all other militia groups.

2. An end to rapes of women in and around displaced persons camps and villages in Darfur, with arrest and prosecution of those who have committed such rapes.

3. Immediate secure access for all humanitarian workers to deliver food, water, medical aid, and shelter to internally displaced persons camps, refugee camps, and other areas where the victims of the Government of Sudan and Janjaweed are seeking safety.

4. Immediate augmentation of the food, water, and medical assistance reaching displaced persons and refugees in Darfur and adjoining areas of Chad.

5. Voluntary and safe return of displaced persons and refugees to their homes and villages, following a negotiated settlement of the civil war in Darfur.

6. Accountability for those engaged in the planning and perpetration of the crimes against humanity, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and genocide in Darfur, including trial of responsible Sudanese and Janjaweed leaders by the International Criminal Court.

Respectfully,

The Officers and Members of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS)

Passed unanimously at the IAGS biennial meeting in Boca Raton, Florida, June 2005.

Dr. Israel Charny, President

Dr. Gregory H. Stanton, First Vice President