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'Everything went wrong and everyone is responsible'. With this statement, Jan Pronk, former special UN representative for Sudan opened the debate on March 29 in Maastricht. Future options on how to implement the notion of Responsibility to Project' came to the fore, including the need for the EU to speak-up and develop a Common Foreign Policy. Pronk was critical about the international political climate which is according to him hampering an active, credible and strong position of the UN, and is blocking consensus on peace keeping operations. He calls for a purification of the US and governments like the Dutch to regain credibility. 

Key issues that have been analyzed and discussed are:

• What lessons can be drawn from Darfur as a new paradigm of intervention for the United Nations in collaboration with an active African Union? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a ‘local’ force rather than an international UN force?
•  Are Western governments willing to take a more passive role and restrict themselves to advice and funding while shifting responsibilities to more local actors?
• How can major crises such as Darfur, which stretch AU capacities to the limit and really should be the object of larger and better equipped UN peace keeping operations, be tackled if other governments take the Sudanese approach and refuse to authorise access for the UN?
• As Europeans citizens how do we feel the EU should contribute to such international efforts? Where should the money come from? Should the EU prioritise support to African efforts and collaborate closely with the AU or is it preferable to support UN operations or even authorise direct military intervention for instance through NATO?

Background paper and bio's of Pronk and Mepham

pictures by Thibault Griez, UM Media

Co-organised with Jonge Socialisten Maastricht