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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Wed Jul 28 2010 - 18:09:05 EDT
<http://allafrica.com/africa/> Africa: United Nations Blocks Change of
Amisom Mandate
Risdel Kasasira and Solomon Muyita
28 July 2010
_____
Kampala - The African Union summit yesterday bowed to pressure from the
United Nations and turned down a request that it support a change in the
mandate of its peacekeeping mission in war-torn Somalia.
After three days of deliberations, the AU Summit, however, closed with a
promise of more troops from more African countries to join Uganda and
Burundi, which together currently have their soldiers serving under the
African peacekeeping mission in Somalia (Amisom).
Pre-emptive strikes
It was also agreed that Amisom, which has until now been hobbled by a
mandate which restricts its troops to firing back only when attacked, now
enjoy a change in rules of engagement - meaning they are free to carry out
pre-emptive strikes against the al Shabaab radical Islamist militants.
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Somalia Augustine
Mahiga had on Monday delivered the message to a meeting attended by the
presidents of Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, Tanzania, prime minister of
Ethiopia and other foreign ministers that there is no need to change the
current mandate.
Yesterday, Mr Johnnie Carson, the US assistant secretary of State for
African Affairs quoted Mr Mahiga as telling a closed door meeting also
attended by three of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council;
United States, France and Britain, that: "It was his view that under the
existing mandate, the forces on the ground could act in a more responsible
but robust fashion."
Uganda and the Somali Transitional Federal Government had prevailed on the
regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to call for a
change of mandate saying the situation in Somalia warrants peace enforcement
and not peacekeeping. With Uganda putting 2,000 additional soldiers at the
ready, the number of Amisom troops headed for Somalia, could still top the
20,000 mark that leaders of IGAD want.
What's needed
Quoting Mr Mahiga, Mr Carson told a press conference in Kampala that Chapter
7 of the UN Charter gives the 6,300 Amisom force in Mogadishu "precisely
what they need to undertake the kinds of operations that are required".
That provision signed in San Francisco, California on June 26, 1945,
authorises the world body's Security Council to determine military and
non-military responses to threats to peace or any act of aggression.
Weeks after the al Shabaab, a self-declared affiliate to terrorist network,
al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the July 11 bomb attacks in Kampala
that killed at least 76 people, President Museveni has been quoted telling
BBC that the peacekeeping mission in Somalia remains "confused" by the
current mandate. "They don't understand what they are doing. So they need a
robust answer, a robust incisive answer," he told BBC.
Yesterday, the Chairman of the AU Commission, Mr Jean Ping said: "We had a
request to change the mandate, which is under consideration. But there are
implications. If we change the mandate, we need more equipment ..."
Mr Ping told journalists at the closure of the Summit that discussions with
the USA, UK and France on reinforcing AMISOM with five helicopters were
promising. He said the AU would also increase the soldiers pay from the
current $ 500 dollars $750 dollars.
Separately, Mr ping said the Summit unanimously rejected the International
Criminal Court indictment of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir for genocide,
war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region of that country.
Arguing that the indictments are an abuse of African sovereignty for a
non-African entity to seek the trial of a sitting president from the
continent, the Summit demanded a 12-month suspension of the ICC arrest
warrants against Mr Bashir. During this time, Mr Ping said, an African
process would review the alleged evidence against the Sudanese President
before action is taken.
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