UN’s Top Humanitarian Official Warns Of Looming Catastrophe In Darfur
The United Nations’ most senior humanitarian official issued a dire warning today about the situation in Darfur, stating
that “a man-made catastrophe of an unprecedented scale” looms within weeks unless the Security Council acts immediately
to deal with the spiralling violence, looting and internal displacement.
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland told a Council meeting that “we could see hundreds of
thousands of deaths” in the strife-torn Sudanese region if aid operations – already at grave risk because of attacks
against individual workers, dramatically reduced access to those in need, and massive funding shortfalls “ collapse.
“In Darfur all of our nightmares have become realities,” he said, telling reporters later the situation is worse than at
any time since early 2004. The humanitarian lifeline for three million people is in jeopardy and “we are at a point
where even hope may escape us.”
Mr. Egeland’s closed-door briefing to the Council comes amid a dramatic worsening of conditions since early May, when
the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) was signed by the Sudanese Government and some of the rebel groups it has been fighting
since 2003 in the vast and impoverished Darfur region alongside its border with Chad.
The Under-Secretary-General said clashes with those rebel groups that did not sign that the DPA have “resulted in
hundreds of deaths, despicable gender-based violence, systematic looting and an estimated 50,000 displaced in the last
eight weeks.”
At just one camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in South Darfur, he said, there are reports that more than 200
women and girls have been sexually assaulted in the past five weeks, while 200 others have been beaten by assailants who
lie in wait a few miles outside the camp.
Many farmers in North and West Darfur states are also reporting that they are being beaten or harassed – and in some
cases killed – to prevent them from cultivating the land.
Mr. Egeland, who is also the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, said the number of attacks against humanitarian workers
has jumped so much in recent months that many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are contemplating withdrawing their
operations.
This violence and insecurity have restricted the reach of UN agencies and NGOs to much of the region: Mr. Egeland said
the UN currently has no access to the northern sections of West and North Darfur states, as well as large areas in the
Jebel Marra area.
Despite the deteriorating situation, the UN is facing a shortfall of nearly $300 million for its humanitarian operations
this year in Darfur, or what Mr. Egeland described as “the final piece of this bleak scenario.”
He called for urgent international action from the Council or any UN Member States with influence to the parties to the
conflict, arguing “there can be no military solution in Darfur, and the Government must be convinced that its planned
military campaign is a prescription for disaster.”
Mr. Egeland also expressed concern about the impact of the current African Union (AU) mission in Darfur, saying some
rebel groups consider the AU to be their enemy and biased in favour of the Government and its associated supporters.
Council members agreed on Thursday to proceed with today’s meeting, despite a request from the Sudanese Government for a
postponement “to enable better preparations.”
Council members have before them a draft resolution circulated by the United Kingdom that outlines the size and scope of
a possible UN peacekeeping operation. But Khartoum has said on several occasions that it is opposed to the UN replacing
the AU in Darfur.
Scores of thousands of people have been killed in the past three years and 2 million others have been forced to flee
their homes amid fighting between the Sudanese armed forces, allied militias and rebel groups.
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