Negroponte Signals Khartoum About U.S. Concern over Darfur
17 April 2007
Briefs reporters following visit to Sudanese refugee camps
Washington -- Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte has concluded his first trip to Sudan, where he visited refugee camps in Darfur and met with President Omar al-Bashir, conveying the "widespread concern" in the United States about the continuing violence in the western region.
In meetings with Bashir and other top Sudanese officials, Negroponte said, "I focused in particular on the situation in Darfur, a situation of intense interest on the part of the American people and our government."
Negroponte also said he conveyed "the U.S.’s commitment to the complete and urgent implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement [CPA]."
At an April 16 briefing in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, Negroponte said it was only his second trip abroad since assuming the number two position at the State Department in February. In addition to Sudan, his April 11-19 trip also includes stops in Chad, Libya and Mauritania.
He also visited Juba in southern Sudan, where he met First Vice President Salva Kiir, leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), the southern political movement that battled the Khartoum government until the CPA was signed in January 2005, ending the almost 20-year conflict.
In Darfur, Negroponte said, he discussed humanitarian and peacekeeping issues with United Nations, African Union (AU) and Sudanese officials. Noting that the crisis has three components -- humanitarian, political and security -- he declared, "All these components deserve the prompt attention of the Sudanese government."
On the humanitarian front, Negroponte said the United States is "the single largest donor to Sudan, more than $2 billion in aid since 2005, and we are working hard to protect vulnerable populations [refugees] there."
The civil war that broke out in Darfur in 2003 has claimed more than 200,000 lives and pushed 2 million people out of their homes. A Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) was signed in May 2006 by the Sudanese government and several rebel groups, but violence by government-backed Jingaweit militias and some rebel groups continues.
Negroponte said the DPA "offers great promise and opportunity to the people of Sudan. [But] it can only be realized through the active efforts of the Sudanese government [and] a quick transition to a U.N.-AU force, and improvement in access for humanitarian workers."
The problem, the diplomat said, is that "when it comes to humanitarian access, the government of Sudan’s record is not encouraging. The denial of visas, the harassment of aid workers have created the impression that the government of Sudan is engaged in a deliberate campaign of intimidation." (See related article.)
Khartoum's recent agreement with the United Nations to facilitate humanitarian operations is "an encouraging sign," Negroponte said, adding, "We will be watching carefully and expect prompt implementation."
On the security front, Negroponte said: "The government of Sudan must disarm the Jingaweit, the Arab militias that we all know could not exist without the Sudanese government's active support. The nonsignatory rebel groups must stop their attacks, put down their arms and come to the negotiating table."
To ensure the peace in Darfur, Negroponte said, "we must move quickly to a larger hybrid African Union and United Nations peacekeeping force with a single united chain of command that conforms to U.N. standards and practices."
A transcript of Negroponte’s remarks is available on the State Department Web site.
For more information on U.S. policy, see Darfur Humanitarian Emergency.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
