Mr. Chair, sadly, once again the world stands in disbelief at one more example of the capacity of inhumanity in some human beings. This latest example is taking place at this very moment in Darfur.
The situation in Darfur at this very moment is so contemptible, so reprehensibly inhuman and so incredibly sad that the option of doing nothing is really no option at all. Whether or not the international community should intervene in Darfur should not be the subject of this debate. The subject of this debate should be on how we intervene and what is needed. The time for discussion on intervention has long since passed. It is now time for action.
The current government in Sudan continues to back the militia group known as Janjaweed in a scorched earth campaign to destroy those in the country who it sees as being disloyal to the regime. In Darfur, 400,000 people have been slaughtered and 1.8 million people have been displaced.
The Janjaweed have taken to poisoning the wells in the regions they destroy so that innocent survivors are slowly killed by poison or die of thirst in the hot Sudanese sun. We are talking about nothing less than a full-blown human rights catastrophe.
What is being done? The African Union has forces present on the ground but what is missing, I am sad to say, is the involvement of all of us, particularly the world community. Politics is at play here. China and Russia, which have important oil deals in Sudan, are loathe to see UN military intervention. NATO countries, including Canada, are so preoccupied with the war in Afghanistan that they can scarcely think to ask our population and military to support a war that does not affect their daily lives.
However, the time is now and we cannot wait another day. We must commit ourselves, not to the idea of power but to the power of ideas. We must forget geopolitical considerations, the spheres of influence and strategic interests. Rather, our call today is to see the faces of those who each day face the possibility of starvation, abuse and even death.
Their expressions may not be heard in audible tones but their call for help is deafening. It is a call we cannot ignore.
