 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Darfur At The Crossroads
UPI U.N. Correspondent United Nations (UPI) April 18, 2007 Sudan's misbegotten Darfur, the northeast African nation's sprawling westernmost region that has been the scene of four years of dire humanitarian and security conditions, has come to a crossroad for its future. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has deemed it so, listing continued attacks against civilians and African Union peacekeepers, inter-tribal fighting and aerial bombardments. He called Tuesday for an immediate end to hostilities and a comprehensive solution, "including political reconciliation and economic development." The opposite path would be continued violence. On the heels of the Sudanese government's announcement Monday it was accepting the entire U.N. "heavy support package" Ban, AU Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare and other AU and U.N. officials began two days of talks at U.N. World Headquarters in New York. Ban said the package must be implemented as soon as possible and called for the finalization of plans for the proposed hybrid AU-U.N. peacekeeping force in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have died as a result of the conflict and about 2.5 million people have been displaced and double that number depend on U.N. agencies or non-governmental organizations for aid. The secretary-general's deployment plea was taken up by the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations. The world organization will supply troops, police officers, civilian staff, armored personnel carriers, helicopter gun ships and other resources for the AU Mission in Sudan. The following phase of the plan will see the introduction of a hybrid force of more than 17,000 troops and 3,000 police officers, compared with AMIS' current level of 7,000 troops. "It will take months, not weeks, to establish our selves on the ground," a senior U.N. peacekeeping official told reporters Wednesday, referring to deployment of the heavy package, which he said would include 2,250 military and about 300 police and support personnel. The official said there would be a meeting of troop-contributing countries Thursday, adding, "We have offers, but, unfortunately, we do not have any offers from African states." The United Nations said it agreed with Sudan to deploy African troops in support of AMIS as far as possible, before deploying troops from other regions of the world. On another front, Ban said he and Konare "have also agreed to intensify our political process." The secretary-general told reporters Tuesday in an encounter with Konare that all rebel leaders in Darfur would be included in the process whether or not they signed the Darfur Peace Agreement. "There will be a two-track approach -- the political process and we are also trying to work on a development package for the Sudanese and Darfur people." Ban and Konare said they had instructed their respective envoys for Darfur, Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahmed Salim, to devise a road map towards substantive negotiations and an eventual comprehensive solution to the conflict. The two envoys were in Darfur last month but were at U.N. headquarters earlier this week. The U.N. Security Council Tuesday approved a statement to be read out to reporters welcoming the Sudanese government's decision to accept the heavy support package. Council members called on Sudan's "Government of National Unity to now facilitate the immediate deployment of the package," it said. The statement underlined council members' belief there can be no military solution to the crisis in Darfur and echoed Ban's call for "an immediate ceasefire, a reinvigorated political process, an improvement in the humanitarian situation and the deployment of an effective AU-U.N. hybrid operation." Ban and Konare said the hybrid force would also be staffed mainly by Africans as far as possible, and Ban called for "the full participation and support" of the continent's countries. They also expressed concern about funding for AMIS and urged international donors to help provide a viable and sustained way of supporting the operation. The conflict is threatening to spill into neighboring Chad, where thousands of refugees from Darfur have fled, and the Central African Republic. Ban and Konare voiced concern at the increasing tensions between Sudan and Chad and urged the two countries to normalize relations and stop all cross-border activities. There were reports the two nations were attempting to coordinate border-area operations, especially where the frontier is difficult to discern. The AU and U.N. chiefs also called for the Sudanese government and others to meet all their commitments under recent communiques concerning humanitarian access and security.
Source: United Press International Related Links United Nations Out Of Africa Africa News - Resources, Health, Food
Italy And Japan Say G8 To Focus On Africa And Global Warming
Tokyo (AFP) April 16, 2007The Japanese and Italian premiers said Monday that global warming and African development will be high on the agenda when the two countries host Group of Eight summits. Japan will host the G8 gathering of leaders from the eight most industrialised countries next year, followed by Italy in 2009. This year's summit will take place in June in Germany. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement |
