Sudan must Act on Darfur in 30 Days or face Measures, UN Security Council Warns by United Nations News 11:21am 31st Jul, 2004   August 4, 2004 (Reuters)    African Union may send 2,000 troops to Darfur    The African Union (AU) may boost the number of troops deployed to Sudan's troubled Darfur region to 2,000, subject to the move gaining approval at a meeting of its members, a spokesman said.    "The AU plans to increase troop strength of its protection force for Darfur from 300 to 2,000, with Nigeria and Rwanda offering to send 1,000 troops each," AU spokesman Adam Thiam told Reuters.    He said the proposal needed the approval of the AU's 15-member security body, the Peace and Security Council, which would also look at broadening the original mandate of the AU force to include a peacekeeping role as well as protecting truce monitors in Darfur.    It was not immediately clear when the Council, whose principal aim is to "promote peace, security and stability in Africa", would meet, but Mr Thiam said troop deployment was expected to begin this week.    4 August 2004    Amid reports of continued attacks on Sudanese in Darfur, UN sends more aid. (UN News).    Sudanese who have been displaced in the vast and strife-torn Darfur region are reportedly still suffering attacks, rape and robbery by the Janjaweed as well as local police, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today.    The African Union (AU) is investigating an incident in South Darfur's Kalma camp where on Sunday, one person was killed and two others injured when a Government official attempted to encourage internally displaced people (IDPs) to return to their homes, and the IDPs responded by pushing the police out of the camp. OCHA warned that the level of anger and frustration among IDPs is rising in many locations, escalating the risk of further disturbances and clashes with local authorities.    UN agencies continue their drive to provide humanitarian aid to Darfur's beleaguered civilians, who have been driven from their homes by marauding militias who have killed and raped local villagers. But the UN appeals for Darfur and Chad are still facing a total funding gap of $188 million - money the agencies say is urgently needed to continue delivering life-saving assistance to those in need.    2 August, 2004    "UN Expert urges Sudan to reject Ethnic Divisions and provide Security". (UN News)    Just back from a week-long mission to Sudan’s troubled Darfur region – scene of what is currently considered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis – a United Nations rights expert today called for the country to foster a national identity based on inclusiveness and not race, culture or religion.    Francis M. Deng, the Secretary-General’s Representative on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), said he found that Darfur was beset by “persistent insecurity and human rights violations” during his tour of the region last week. In particular, he cited “many accounts and reports” of rape of women outside of camps, and called on the Government to ensure treatment for the victims while bringing the perpetrators to justice.    Mr. Deng said that while many of the estimated 1.2 million IDPs in Darfur want to return to their homes eventually, they remain afraid to do so because of continued attacks by Janjaweed militias against local civilians.    Mr. Deng, who is himself Sudanese, said he was disturbed that Khartoum was pressuring IDPs to return home before it was safe. “Return will only be sustainable if the right to return voluntarily in safety and dignity is respected at all times,” he said in a statement, adding that the insecurity is the biggest concern of the IDPs.    Calling for “a comprehensive, peaceful and negotiated settlement” of the conflict in Darfur, where two rebel groups have been fighting Government forces and the allied Janjaweed since early last year, Mr. Deng said Sudan has been riven for too long by faultlines of race, ethnicity, religion and culture..    He described a “new common and inclusive framework of national identity in which all Sudanese would find a sense of belonging as citizens with equality and dignity of citizenship.”...“Resisting this unfolding reality would be imprudent, unsustainable and self-defeating,” he warned.    Mr. Deng said that although he was heartened by Khartoum’s vows to bring to justice those responsible for human rights violations in Darfur, and to improve access for humanitarian workers, much more still needed to be done..    30 July, 2004    The Security Council today adopted a resolution paving the way for action against Sudan in 30 days if it does not make progress on pledges to disarm the militias accused of indiscriminate murders, rapes and other attacks against civilians in the Darfur region – a move that was welcomed immediately by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.    With China and Pakistan abstaining, and the other 13 members approving the text, the Council agreed to impose an arms embargo against the Janjaweed militias and all other non-governmental forces in Darfur, which has been described as the site of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.    The resolution says the Council might take measures against Sudan if it does not show progress on achieving the commitments – most notably the pledges to disarm the Janjaweed and restore security to Darfur – it outlined in a joint communiqué with the UN on 3 July.    Those measures include steps allowed under the UN Charter, such as issuing economic penalties, restricting transport and communications, and severing diplomatic relations. The resolution also calls for the resumption of political dialogue between the government and Darfur’s two rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).    Mr. Annan, who visited Darfur earlier this month and was present at the signing of the communiqué, “looks forward to the swift and sustained implementation” by Sudan of its commitments, and hopes the resolution will ensure that a humanitarian catastrophe is avoided in Darfur, according to a statement read out by UN spokesperson Marie Okabe. The Secretary-General also welcomed the Council’s backing of the efforts of the African Union (AU), which is trying to mediate a political solution to the crisis and has deployed human rights monitors as part of a mission in Darfur, a region roughly equal to the size of France.    In Accra, Ghana, African leaders said they discussed plans to significantly expand the number of troops in the AU’s observer mission given the deteriorating security situation in Darfur. They also called on the international community to give financial and logistic support to that mission.    Ambassador John Danforth of the United States, one of the sponsors of today’s resolution, said the Council had been forced to act because Government forces and the Janjaweed, which are allied to Khartoum, had killed 30,000 people since February last year.    “The last thing we wanted to do was lay the groundwork for sanctions, but the Government of Sudan has left us no choice,” he told the Council after it voted, calling the resolution essential to global efforts to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians.    Humanitarian agencies estimate that 1.2 million people have become internally displaced within Darfur and another 200,000 live as refugees in neighbouring Chad because of the Janjaweed attacks and the fighting between Sudanese forces and the SLM/A and the JEM.    Sudan’s Ambassador Elfatih Mohamed Ahmed Erwa told the Council his Government was in a “race with time” to implement the commitments laid out in the 3 July communiqué, adding it was extremely difficult to disarm the Janjaweed because Darfur is a region where almost everyone carries arms. Mr. Erwa said Khartoum had already made much progress, citing the deployment of more than 4,800 police to bolster security, the arrest and trial of 200 Janjaweed members, and the dispatch of rape investigation teams headed by female judges.    Accusing the United States of pre-determining the facts, he said that when the joint communiqué with the UN was signed, it never occurred to Sudan that it would be used “as a springboard” to punish Khartoum. Ambassador Wang Guangya of China, announcing his country’s abstention before the role, said the adoption of mandatory measures if commitments are not met is “not helpful in resolving the situation in Darfur and may further complicate the situation.” Mr. Wang stressed the importance of listening to and supporting the African Union as it attempted to resolve the Darfur dispute.    29 July 2004    As Security Council readies text on Sudan, Annan sounds alarm on Darfur rapes.    Citing reports of rapes and other attacks by militiamen against villagers in Sudan's Darfur region, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on the Government to protect civilians, while the Security Council prepared to vote tomorrow on a resolution threatening measures against Khartoum if it does not disarm the militias and bring the leaders to justice.    "The Secretary-General is gravely concerned about reports of continuing intimidation, threats and attacks against internally displaced persons in Darfur," a spokesperson for Mr. Annan said in a statement.    The Secretary-General pointed particularly to West Darfur, where the Janjaweed - bands of armed Arab fighters who travel mainly on horseback - stand accused of raping local black African women. Many of the victims have fled their home villages because of militia attacks.    In camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in North Darfur, Sudanese Government security officials are harassing residents who have spoken to foreign visitors, and have arrested and beaten several community leaders.    Mr. Annan appealed to Khartoum to stick to its commitments, outlined in a 3 July joint communiqué signed with the UN, to disarm the Janjaweed and ensure the protection and security of all IDPs in Darfur.    At least 1.2 million people are estimated to be internally displaced, while as many as 200,000 others live as refugees in neighbouring Chad because of the militia attacks and the fighting between Government forces and two rebel groups.    UN spokesperson Marie Okabe said the Security Council's 15 members will meet tomorrow morning to vote on a draft resolution about Sudan sponsored by the United States and the United Kingdom.    Condemning the violence and expressing concern at the humanitarian situation, the draft resolution calls for an arms embargo on all non-Government forces - including the Janjaweed - in Darfur.    The resolution says the Council might take measures allowed in the UN Charter, including imposing economic penalties and severing diplomatic relations, if Sudan does not make progress on achieving its pledges from the joint communiqué.    It calls for the resumption of political talks between Sudan and the two rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).    Council members will also be asked to endorse the African Union's deployment of monitors in Darfur and urge the international community to "make available much needed assistance to mitigate the humanitarian catastrophe."    Meanwhile, at the Zam Zam camp in North Darfur, IDPs and community leaders refused to attend the launch of the hygiene promotion campaign by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) because they feared reprisals from the Sudanese Government.    Ms. Okabe said the IDPs told UN staff they had been threatened and harassed the previous night, a claim repeated by IDPs at other camps. UN humanitarian workers say they are particularly concerned about Sudan's attempts to force IDPs to return to their homes during the current rainy season. It will be almost impossible to distribute food and other aid supplies to some villages - possibly at least until November - because of the heavy rains..
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