Boy, there’s that R2P thing again. Talk is cheap, and the Sudan and the Congo are disasters right now. It is extremely frustrating to know that there is a capable company like Blackwater–ready to go into the fire and protect the weak, and yet we do nothing. Good job to Mrs. Bennett for putting together a great article. –Head Jundi
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18 Nov 2008
PSC prospects in Darfur
With the international community slow to react to the conflict in Darfur, private security companies weigh their options for entering the region, Jody Ray Bennett writes for ISN Security Watch.
By Jody Ray Bennett for ISN Security Watch
For almost five years the world has watched hundreds of thousands of Darfur civilians be massacred, raped and displaced from their families and homes.
Even though world leaders have issued calls to action, such as the 2005 international manifesto Responsibility to Protect (R2P), which called for states responsible for widespread harm to its population to face repercussions, the international community has been slow to respond to crisis in Darfur. Two years after the issuing of the R2P, approximately 200,000 to 400,000 Dafuris were dead and 2.5 million displaced.
As the US stretches its own forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, it has also been politically unable to justify the invasion of yet another Islamic country. China, Sudan’s closest economic, political and military ally, has failed to respond to the ongoing genocide despite its ability to do so.
Additionally, the joint African Union/UN operation in Darfur (UNAMID), created by the UN Security Council in 2007, has been recently noted by a report by researchers at the Elliot School of International Affairs for its relative weakness against the janjaweed rebels.
The private sector sees an opportunity in Darfur. Erik Prince, founder of the infamous private security company (PSC), Blackwater Worldwide, is confident about what his company could do in the restive area.
According to a report from US broadcaster ABC News, Blackwater believes that with roughly 250 of its professionals it could “transform the African Union soldiers into and elite and highly mobile force.” Most notably, Prince has pledged to conduct the operation at cost, meaning the company would make no net profit from the endeavor.
If a PSC enters Darfur, the move would raise some very interesting issues within the realm of security studies. In the event that a company like Blackwater could turn the situation in Darfur around, it could prove itself as a legitimate actor in peace operations and further help establish legitimacy to an industry that has long been viewed with skepticism.
On the other hand, a Blackwater success could de-emphasize the role of the nation-state and/or other international institutions when attempting to enforce the R2P. The use of PSCs for peace operations in the future might also indicate that states or international organizations can choose to intervene by proxy, or through a private entity that aims to profit from a peace operation that no other actor is willing to undertake.
“Including the private sector in peace operations would be a paradigm shift that for some may not be welcome, particularly for those who believe that companies making profit in conflict is a bad idea,” Chris Taylor, former vice president of Blackwater Worldwide told ISN Security Watch.
“But we are then left with a choice between a company making a profit and stopping violence and saving lives.”
The functional role of private force
Comparing the private and non-private security, the long-held view that the former is structurally and financially more efficient than the latter resurfaces. Indeed, it has more or less been accepted that private military and security companies are faster to deploy, better equipped and less expensive than large national militaries, which are subject to governments under pressure from national and international politics.
“Certainly [PSCs] have the potential to add greatly to the capabilities of forces mandated to protect civilians and aid workers or to monitor the activities of belligerents. They have great advantages over even skilled military units, [much more than] peacekeeping missions that have been cobbled together and are often poorly planned and equipped, and frequently have at least components of which are not highly trained,” Chad Hazlett, Protection Director of the Genocide Intervention Network told ISN Security Watch.
“They can pull together experienced fighters and logisticians who have served on similar missions before, and they can operate much faster than many other bureaucracies, particularly the UN.”
This is exactly the rationale private companies such as Blackwater use to engage themselves in peace operations, especially at a time when the US presence in Iraq could soon be winding down. Companies are thus looking for the next best business opportunity – and peace operations in a place like Darfur might just prove to be the next best endeavor.
Blackwater’s announcement that it could provide a stability operation in Darfur at cost makes clear the company’s desire to support UNAMID against the janjaweed, thereby repairing an image tarnished by events in Iraq.
According to Taylor, if the current number of UN/AU troops deployed remains constant, the private sector could improve their efficiency and effectiveness. “To date, member-nations, including the United States, have not given air support to the mission. In particular, helicopters are desperately needed. If member-nations will not provide those assets, then it makes sense to look to the private sector.
“Additionally, because Darfur is such a large area, ‘persistent surveillance’ – using airships – can be an effective tool in seeing more of the humanitarian space and allowing commanders to deploy resources more effectively.”
Taylor also stated that PSCs could secure the perimeter of internally displaced persons’ camps, which would free AU/UN troops to patrol more areas. Companies could also assist in providing secure corridors for NGOs to come in and provide their services.
Legitimacy, accountability still in question
The role of PSCs in global conflicts must now be considered seriously in situations where states and/or international organizations are unable or unwilling to adequately respond to large-scale catastrophes as seen in the Darfur model. As was with private security and military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, legitimacy and accountability are still issues to be considered.
“In principle there is no reason why these firms ought not to help on these missions, so long as they are hired by a legitimate actor and are accountable to strict conduct restrictions. It’s too important an option not to consider,” Hazlett told ISN Security Watch.
“The trouble is that even though these plans don’t look provocative and need not involve any private ‘trigger-pullers,’ the government of Sudan does not allow [private intervention]. They don’t want these protection forces to be more effective, much less fortified by private mercenaries, particularly from western countries.
“Since [Khartoum] says no, the AU, the UN and everyone else will say no. Everybody is relying on what little consent the government of Sudan does provide to get in the little bit of a force we have on the ground. So the question is not what private firms could do, it is what they are allowed to do by the Sudanese government – the principle perpetrator of violence against civilians.”
This is the paradox of Darfur. To speculate, private companies might be effective in training an AU force outside of Sudan, but moving them out of Darfur and then redeploying the force might prove to be a more costly of feat.
Nevertheless, no single PSC could reshape the conflict as several factions of rebel groups and the janjaweed roam the outskirts of Darfur. Instead, a consortium of private companies with specific security and military skills to supplement an AU/UN force in might be what is needed, but not without the action of states to reconcile the political instabilities with Khartoum.
Regardless of where one falls on the ideological plane, the role of private security and military companies in future humanitarian and peacekeeping operations may soon write the newest chapter of our global security story.
Jody Ray Bennett is an ISN Security Watch correspondent based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.