Beyond shame, beyond scandal…simply despicable, given what UNAMID chief Ibrahim Gambari knew of al-Bashir’s crimes; this “sociability” was also in violation of UN stipulations about contact with those indicted by the ICC. This incident was a deep revelation of not only the character of UNAMID leadership, but of the willingness of the African Union Peace and Security Council to allow UNAMID to fail, despite the immense consequences of this failure for the future of peacekeeping in Africa.
Many UNAMID peacekeepers have been killed by forces under the command of al-Bashir’s Sudan Armed Forces, including the Janjaweed. We may be sure that Gambari is here not discussing with al-Bashir the fact that UN ten years after the UN Security Council “demanded” that Khartoum disarm the Janjaweed (UN Security Council Resolution 1556, July 2004), it has instead incorporated them as part of its national armed forces and openly supplies and supports them, and coordinates with them militarily.