Gov. Bill Richardson has been asked to travel to Sudan to help push the government to allow peacekeeping forces in the devastated Darfur region, the Associated Press is reporting.
The Washington, D.C.-based Save Darfur Coalition made the request, and Richardson is consulting with the State Department, the Sudanese Government and the United Nations, spokesman Pahl Shipley told the news service.
The United Nations passed a resolution in September that approved sending 22,000 peacekeeping troops to Darfur, but the Sudanese government has refused to allow them in.
The invitation could continue to give Richardson national press and boost his image as a foreign-policy expert at a time when he’s considering a run for president. He met last week, for the second time since he was elected governor, with North Korean officials in Santa Fe to discuss that ongoing conflict.
Richardson may be the ideal diplomat to negotiate with the Sudanese government. In September, he successfully negotiated the release of American journalist Paul Salopek and two others who were being held on charges of espionage. They were attempting to report on the conflict in Darfur for National Geographic magazine.
Richardson is liked by some high-ranking Sudanese officials. He has been friends with Sudan’s ambassador to the United States since 1996, when Richardson negotiated the release of Red Cross workers, an American pilot and others who were being held by Sudanese rebels. The current ambassador, Khadir Haroun Ahmed, was Richardson’s translator for that trip.
Gov. Bill Richardson has been asked to travel to