Gordon Brown must act now to deploy an EU force for the Eastern DRC if civilians are to be protected, according to an appeal by a broad coalition of Former Presidents, Prime Ministers, diplomats, military commanders and others.

The group have today (Thursday) published an open letter sent to Gordon Brown and other European heads of state urging them to ‘speedily agree to the temporary deployment of an EU force'. 

The letter calls for European leaders to live up to their responsibility to protect civilians and warns that, ‘To those of us who have worked on such issues for some time, current events bring back painful memories of Rwanda and Srebrenica.'

The letter sent yesterday, calls on Gordon Brown to use their, ‘personal political leadership to make sure this happens and ensure ‘never again' really means never again.'

The letter is signed by 16 high profile individuals from around the world including Vaclav Havel, F.W. de Klerk, Desmond Tutu, Joschka Fischer, Jan Egeland, Mary Robinson and George Soros.  The signatories span Nobel Peace Prize winners, former Presidents, Prime Ministers and Foreign Minsters, Princes, Archbishops and military commanders

According to the group the temporary deployment of an EU force would ‘help protect the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians currently at risk.'

So far, despite a series of trips to the region by EU officials and foreign ministers including David Miliband and Mark Malloch-Brown, and despite the existence of EU battle groups - created specifically to respond to the sort of crisis taking place in the Eastern DRC - there has been no agreement to deploy. Instead EU leaders have said they will support UN reinforcements that are expected to take between two and six months to deploy.

According to the signatories, who also include Lt General Romeo Dallaire, former head of the UN peacekeeping to Rwanda, ‘It is increasingly clear that the EU is best placed - through its standing battle groups - to play this role and deploy now.'

Editors notes:

Jan Egeland and Juan Mendez are available for interview. For more information or interviews please contact Ian Bray, Oxfam 01865 472289, 07721 461 339

The full list of signatories and the full text of the letter is below:

Dear Prime Minister,

As you will be aware, the situation in the Eastern DRC is a clear humanitarian catastrophe. The United Nations has already documented massacres, rape and the forced recruitment of children and the peacekeeping force on the ground is currently unable to protect the hundreds of thousands of civilians at risk.

To those of us who have worked on such issues for some time, current events bring back painful memories of Rwanda and Srebrenica, mass atrocity crimes world leaders promised to prevent when they agreed at the World Summit in 2005 that they had a responsibility to protect populations from genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Of course, it is clear to all of us that only a political solution can bring an end to this crisis. We all strongly support an end to impunity; an army that protects it own civilians rather than preys on them and an inclusive political process.  It will be critical for President Olusegun Obasanjo in his role as Special Envoy to receive high level support over the coming months if it is to be successful.

But it is also clear that the political track will take time to yield results and would suffer badly from any sudden destabilisation that could take place at any moment. While the UN has authorised an additional 3,000 troops it will likely take between three and six months to deploy them.  The Congolese people cannot wait.

The UN Special Representative to the DRC has called for an interim force to deploy immediately to protect civilians and support the UN peacekeepers until reinforcements can arrive. It is increasingly clear that the EU is best placed - through its standing battle groups - to play this role and deploy now.

We urge you to speedily agree to the temporary deployment of an EU force. In our view this would help protect the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians currently at risk.

It needs your personal political leadership to make sure this happens and ensure ‘never again' really means never again.

Yours,

Lloyd Axworthy, former Canadian Foreign Minister

Jorge Castaneda, former Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs

Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire (Retired), Canadian Senator and former Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission to Rwanda

Vaclav Havel, writer and former President of the Czech Republic

Frederik Willem de Klerk, Nobel Peace Laureate and former President of South Africa

Jan Egeland, Director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, former UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator

Joschka Fisher, former German Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor

Richard Goldstone, former Chief Prosecutor of the UN International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda.

Juan Mendez, President of the International Center for Transitional Justice, former Special Advisor to the Secretary General on the Prevention of Genocide

Mike Moore, former Director General of the World Trade Organisation, former Prime Minister of New Zealand

Archbishop Njongo Ndungane, former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town

Bishop Monsengwo Pasinya Laurent, Head of the Catholic Church in Kinshasa

Mary Robinson, President of Realizing Rights, former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

George Soros, Chairman of the Open Society Institute

El Hassan bin Talal, Prince, Jordan

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate

The Rt Reverend Michael Scott-Joynt, Bishop of Winchester

 

Richard Dowden, Author of Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles

 

Tom Stoppard, Playwright

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