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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
SUDAN: Abuses, impunity persist in Darfur - UN Special Representative
NAIROBI, 9 Feb 2005 (IRIN) - Sudan's government and rebels are still committing atrocities in the strife-torn western region of Darfur, Jan Pronk, the UN Secretary-General's special representative for Sudan, said on Tuesday.
"Fighting on the ground still continues and those responsible for atrocious crimes on a massive scale go unpunished," Pronk told the UN Security Council as he presented Secretary-General Kofi Annan's progress report on the last six months of efforts to end the conflict in Darfur.
"January 2005 saw large-scale killings of civilians in villages in southern Darfur, accompanied by reports of abduction and rape," Pronk said. "Frequent rape continues to be reported by internally displaced persons when women venture out of camps."
The Darfur conflict, which the UN has described as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, pits the government and allied militias against rebel groups.
The report concluded that the government's performance in complying with its commitments and obligations over the past six months had been "uneven". It said the number of civilians affected by the conflict had continued to grow at a rate that outpaced the ability of humanitarian agencies to provide for their basic needs.
Rebel movements had become less cooperative in peace talks, the report noted, with increased attacks on police and obstruction of humanitarian work, including looting and abductions, characterizing their activities.
However, despite the recent intensification of violence, the Secretary-General noted that the government had shown willingness to make progress in the political talks on Darfur, and had gradually lifted restrictions on humanitarian assistance delivery, dramatically improving humanitarian access to the region.
"Undoubtedly the situation is not as bad as during the first half of 2004," Pronk said. "The government has kept quite a few of its promises."
Pronk's remarks followed the findings by a UN-backed commission that while genocide was not committed in Darfur, government-supported militias were still perpetrating rape, mass killings and destruction.
Drawing on his own experience of the situation, Pronk said: "During my visit to Darfur ten days ago, I saw the dramatic consequences of tribal and ethnic cleansing of dozens of villages carried out by the militia." He said a 'robust' third party force was required in Sudan to act as a buffer between the warring parties, and also between combatants and civilians.
The UN and the African Union are currently engaged in complementary peace support efforts in Sudan. The AU leads the political mediation and ceasefire monitoring, while the UN is involved in delivery of humanitarian assistance and reporting the situation to the Security Council.
Emphasizing that the war in Darfur was a complicated one, with political, economic, environmental and cultural dimensions, Pronk made it clear that any lasting solution to the crisis would require political negotiations in good faith between both parties.
Pronk expressed optimism that both the government and the rebel leaders cared about their people and wished to see an end to the hostilities.
"President Bashir and Vice President Taha have made it quite clear: the objective is peace through negotiations," he told the council. "I have encountered rebel leaders that care; they are skeptical, but they care about their people. That is the basis for serious talk."
The tentative success of a comprehensive peace accord signed in January 2005 between the government and southern Sudanese rebels augured well for Darfur, and a similar agreement could be reached by the end of 2005, Pronk said.
The Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army ended 21 years of conflict with the signing of January's accord.
Since fighting broke out in Darfur in 2003, tens of thousands of people have been killed, and up to 1.85 million have been displaced from their homes.
[ENDS]
This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004
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