Annan Warns Darfur Is Heading For Disaster Unless UN Peacekeepers Move In
New York, Sep 13 2006 1:00PM
Darfur is headed for a disaster unless the Sudanese Government changes its mind and allows a force of United Nations
peacekeepers to take over from the existing African Union (AU) operation in the strife-torn region, Secretary-General
Kofi Annan said today.
Warning that the situation in Darfur has become desperate, Mr. Annan told a press conference at UN Headquarters in New York that the world faced a “big challenge” to ensure that there was not a repeat
of the Rwandan genocide of 1994.
“If the African Union forces were to leave, and we are not able to put in a UN follow-on force, we are heading for a
disaster, and I don’t think we can allow that to happen, particularly since we only recently passed the ‘Responsibility
to Protect’ resolution,” he said.
At the World Summit last year, Member States agreed there is a collective international obligation to protect
populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, and the Security Council must take
decisive action if there is no peaceful means to protect and the national authorities are manifestly failing to do so.
Referring to the experience in Rwanda, Mr. Annan reminded Member States that “everyone said we should not let it happen
again.”
Last month the Council voted to deploy more than 17,000 blue helmets inside Darfur, which has been beset by brutal
violence and massive displacement since 2003, and said it “invites the consent” of the Sudanese Government.
Khartoum has said on several occasions that it is opposed to a UN force stepping in, and Mr. Annan reiterated his appeal
for other governments with any influence on Sudan to convince the leadership to change its attitude.
About 1.9 million people have been displaced and nearly 3 million in total depend on humanitarian aid for food, shelter
and health care across Darfur because of the ongoing fighting between rebel groups, Government forces and allied
militias.
The situation has worsened since the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) in May between the Government and some
of the rebel groups it has been fighting. In the past two months, 12 aid workers have been murdered – more than in the
entire previous two years.
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