U.S. Relations With the People's Republic of China (2008)

Testimony of Richard S. Williamson
The President's Special Envoy to Sudan
before the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee

April 23, 2008

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Without a doubt, it is a difficult and complex endeavor to coordinate and deploy a hybrid peacekeeping mission in a country with a strong and often uncooperative central government. The Government of Sudan has been characteristically obstructionist, especially with regard to the composition of UNAMID. Earlier this year, engineering units from Norway and Sweden were rejected by the Government of Sudan, even though they would have provided vital resources in the transition from AMIS to UNAMID and helped to quickly create the necessary infrastructure for new troops. Without the Nordic engineering company, the only engineering unit that has arrived in Darfur is the advance party from China. These 140 engineers are less than one-third of the overall engineering assets necessary for the mission--and the slow deployment of engineers has made it more difficult for UNAMID to receive the troops necessary to complete their mission.

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The delays in UNAMID's deployment are also due in part to a lack of troop contributor resources. There has been an insufficient pledging of specialized units that provide critical force multipliers vital to the mission. We have been engaged in an intense high-level diplomatic campaign to lobby on behalf of the United Nations and help to generate and deploy tactical and utility helicopters as well as other critical mission requirements. This diplomatic campaign is starting to bear fruit: Ethiopia has recently offered helicopters to the mission. Our efforts have also included high-level coordination and outreach to multiple NATO and non-NATO countries, including China. The United States has worked closely with the UN to identify those countries most likely to contribute helicopters to this operation. Senior U.S. officials, including the President and Secretary of State, have urged their international counterparts to provide the required support. In addition to helicopters, it is important to note that UNAMID also will require additional military transport and logistical units--these so-called "enabling" units are vital to the creation of the proper infrastructure and support of a larger peacekeeping mission. These units will help move materials and personnel to begin the construction of storage, maintenance, and fuel storage facilities as well as improving security on existing compounds.

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