Hearing of the Africa Subcommittee of the House International Relations Committee - Peacekeeping in Africa

Federal News Service October 8, 2004 Friday

HEADLINE: HEARING OF THE AFRICA SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE

SUBJECT: PEACEKEEPING IN AFRICA: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

CHAIRED BY: REPRESENTATIVE EDWARD R. ROYCE (R-CA)

WITNESSES PANEL I: JAMES W. SWIGERT, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF STATE;

PANEL II: VIVIAN LOWERY DERRYCK, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR, ACADEMY FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (FORMER ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR AT USAID); DOUG BROOKS, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL PEACE OPERATIONS ASSOCIATION;

VICTORIA K. HOLT, SENIOR ASSOCIATE, HENRY L. STIMSON CENTER

BODY:

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REP. GREGORY W. MEEKS (D-NY): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And let me first also just compliment my colleagues, Tom Tancredo and Don Payne, for that great work that you all did in passing H.R. 5061 yesterday. I think it's fantastic and it goes toward trying to stop the atrocities that are taking place in Darfur. And I thank you and congratulate both of you.

Let me ask-and I think it's a question similar to what Barbara was asking but on a broader scale. It just seems to me that all the times we are reacting to a crisis as, you know, being reactive as opposed to being proactive. And so therefore peacekeeping has come in to be like individuals. Peacekeeping troops swoop in like Superman or something to stop problems from happening. I'm wondering whether or not we do any kind of planning or is there anything afoot where we can maybe be proactive with peacekeeping, where we see that there may be some mediation we can do, or something of that nature, before we have atrocities taking place, before we have loss of lives, before we have the kind of genocide that is currently taking place in Darfur.

And, secondly to that is whether or not you think there are any such situations currently existing on the continent now that we may be able to do and be proactive and get involved in before there is any outbreaks of violence.

MR. SWIGERT: Well, you raise a very important question and important point, Congressman Meeks. Obviously we don't want to go to peacekeeping operations if there's a possibility to avoid that and to prevent conflict. From where I sit in the International Organizations Bureau at the State Department, I see a variety of efforts underway by the administration to work in Africa intensively to ensure that there is progress and development. The MCA, the Millennium Challenge Account Congress has funded puts a tremendous amount of resources.

The way to avoid problems really is through working on fundamentals. Fundamentals of development, democracy, ensuring that there's good governance.

And in Africa, as you know, the NEPAD, New Partnership for African Development, has put a focus on that. And I think our efforts are to try and work with African nations to ensure that there is movement in that direction.

Now, when there are simmering conflicts, which is a different, more short-term challenge, I know that through diplomacy we are quite active to try to diffuse these. From where I sit, I see the U.N., with its resources, also working the problems. In some cases, short of a peacekeeping operation, you will have a U.N. special political mission in a country where you have U.N. personnel who can work to help mediate and diffuse conflicts. But it's a very complex issue you raise which requires both short-term and long-term approaches.

REP. MEEKS: And the short term-and I know I'm one who's been advocating for the AU to step up, et cetera, to do more on the peacekeeping. And I know they need money. The question is, on a long-term basis, how much money do you think that the AU-and I've heard that the Senate has estimated over a long-term basis-long term being I guess five, 10 years-has estimated from $75 million to $150 million may be what is needed to help strengthen and help them to be successful. But what do you think?

How much, on a long-term basis, to get the AU up to strength with the proper equipment, with the proper technology? What would you think, so that they can-because I, you know, again understand that there's more focus for one or two reasons, on account that both are good, even to just help a neighbor or to just stop genocide. But how much money do you think that we need to put behind them on a long-term basis to make them successful?

MR. SWIGERT: Well, I wouldn't be in a position to put a figure on it, Congressman Meeks. I'm not that familiar with the scope of the programs that they AU has in place right now. The ones that I've seen active is the AU in Burundi, as I mentioned before, which was basically South African forces. And the AU is now stepping up in Darfur. I think the key is that these operations need to be successful operations. And I would say the most pressing priority now is Darfur, and that's what we're working on.

Looking at it as more of a mid to long-term issue, building up capacity and training for the next crisis, not for the current one, is what we're trying to do today through the president's GPOI, the Global Peace Operations Initiative, and the meeting at the State Department where AU, European Union, G8 representatives are sitting down with our government's representatives to get, first, a good fix on what everybody's doing right now here from the AU about needs, and then move to translating this discussion into actual programs.

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