Worldwide Rallies held for Darfur - Recent surge in violence threatens peace talks by UN News / BBC / Globe for Darfur 4:35pm 17th Sep, 2007   17 September 2007    Recent surge in Darfur violence threatens peace talks, says UN Secretary-General. (UN News)    United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed deep concern at the recent surge in fighting across the war-torn Darfur region in Sudan, warning that it jeopardizes the chances of success of the peace talks being held next month to try to end the conflict.    “The Secretary-General strongly urges all parties to show restraint and cease all military action in order to create a positive atmosphere for the envisaged political negotiations,” his spokesperson said in a statement.    He cited last week’s attacks in the town of Hashkanita when, according to reports of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), aerial bombardments involving helicopter gunships and military clashes on the ground caused the deaths of many civilians.    Mr. Ban also referred to the attacks last month that took place in Adilla, South Darfur, and Wad Banda, in the neighbouring Kordofan region.    “The Secretary-General is alarmed by the fact that the reported attacks took place in spite of the signing of a joint communiqué on 6 September, during the Secretary-General’s visit to Sudan, in which the Government of Sudan committed to a full cessation of hostilities in Darfur in the lead-up to the political negotiations,” the statement said.    Those negotiations between the Sudanese Government and the Darfur rebels, scheduled to begin in Libya on 27 October, will be led by the UN and AU envoys to Darfur, Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahmed Salim.    More than 200,000 Darfurians have been killed and at least 2.2 million others forced to flee their homes since 2003 because of the fighting between rebels, Government forces and allied Janjaweed militia groups.    In July the Security Council authorized the establishment of the first hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force (to be known as UNAMID) to take over from AMIS and try to quell the violence in Darfur, an arid and impoverished region on Sudan’s western flank.    17 September 2007    Humanitarian conditions in Darfur are deteriorating, says UN report.    The humanitarian situation inside Darfur deteriorated further last month, with thousands of civilians fleeing their homes, camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) becoming increasingly crowded and recent heavy rains only adding to the misery of many locals in the war-ravaged Sudanese region, according to a United Nations report released today.    The August overview by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also finds that violence inside the IDP camps scattered across Darfur is worsening, making it harder for aid workers to reach people in need and carry out their work.    More than 240,000 Darfurians are newly displaced or have been re-displaced this year, which means over 2.2 million people have fled their homes since the conflict between rebels, Sudanese Government forces and allied Janjaweed militia groups began in 2003.    At the end of July the Security Council authorized the creation of a hybrid UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur (to be known as UNAMID) of some 26,000 troops and police officers to quell the violence and improve humanitarian access.    The overview notes that armed elements are present in many of the IDP camps, sometimes conducting violent activities that force a shutdown of aid operations until security can be restored. All operations inside Kalma camp in South Darfur state were suspended for three days last month because of insecurity, while there was a two-day shutdown at Zalingei camp in West Darfur.    The ongoing violence in the Jebel Marra region of West Darfur has limited relief operations there as well, according to the report, which said the situation is being exacerbated by the annual rainy season that in turn is affecting sanitary conditions in the camps and promoting the spread of waterborne diseases.    Many aid workers are also coming under direct attack. During August seven vehicles belonging to the humanitarian community were hijacked or stolen and four convoys were attacked. In total, five aid workers were kidnapped or abducted, and three were beaten. So far this year five aid workers have been killed and the remaining workers have had to relocate more than 20 times.    “This has a direct and tangible impact on the quality and quantity of aid and results, in some cases, in the inability to reach those in need,” the overview stated.    Aid workers are bringing relief to an estimated 4.2 million people across Darfur, an arid and impoverished region in western Sudan, and about 3.1 million of those people received assistance in July from the World Food Programme (WFP).    16 September 2007 (BBC News)    On the Global Day for Darfur, protesters gathered from New York to Tokyo and from London to Accra, in Ghana.    Demonstrators in London carried signs reading "Rape, torture, murder. How much longer for Darfur?" while protesters in Rome wore T-shirts bearing a blood-stained hand and carried a peace torch they said was originally lit in Chad - the home to hundreds of thousands of Darfur refugees.    Under the slogan "Don"t Look Away" organisers of the protests are demanding action from world leaders when they meet at the United Nations next week.    Protests have been taking place in 30 countries to bring attention to the crisis in Sudan"s Darfur region. London, Paris, San Francisco and New York all held events ahead of key meetings of world leaders at the United Nations next week.    On the Global Day for Darfur, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called the conflict "one of the great tragedies of our time". At least 200,000 people have been killed and over 2.5 million displaced in Darfur since 2003.    The government in Khartoum and Arab militias allied to it have been blamed for massacres of Darfur"s black African population - charges the government denies.    Demonstrations organised by groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Save Darfur Coalition were taking place from Japan to Vancouver to Accra in Ghana.    Protestors demanded world leaders not look away from the continuing violence in Darfur. They insist world leaders must act when they meet at the United Nations next week.    The director of Human Rights Watch, Tom Porteous, said there was a window of opportunity for the provision of an effective peacekeeping force but it must be taken. He added: "We will also be addressing a very strong message for the Sudanese government, which bears the bulk of the responsibility for this conflict."    Gordon Brown told the BBC World Service he wanted Darfur"s proposed peacekeeping force to be in place by the end of the year. Mr Brown pledged technical help for the UN-African Union force and warned of further sanctions if fighting continued. Government forces and their allies continue to fight local rebels, but Mr Brown said it would "disastrous" if the fighting did not stop.    He said if a UN-brokered peace did not work "and we find that the government of Sudan is not making the changes necessary, then we will have to move to further sanctions".    On a visit to Rome this week, Sudan"s President Omar al-Bashir said he was willing to sign a peace deal with rebel groups ahead of talks with them in Libya on 27 October. BBC world affairs correspondent Mark Doyle says the UK leader"s comments reflect Western impatience with the Khartoum government. Commentators have accused Sudan of deliberately blocking attempts to mediate the conflict.    The peacekeeping force will be made up of about 20,000 soldiers and 6,000 police officers. Thousands of African Union peacekeepers are already in the region, the rest are due to begin arriving next month.    15 Sep. 2007 (Globe for Darfur)    On Sunday September 16th, tens of thousands of people will come together in cities around the world to send off their country"s delegations to the United Nations General Assembly in New York with a united message: "Don"t Look Away Now".    The message of the day urges the international community to honour their responsibility to protect the people of Darfur and ensure the full and expeditious deployment of the AU-UN hybrid peacekeeping force authorised by UN Resolution 1769. Furthermore, all UN delegations are urged to ensure that the Government of Sudan facilitates the swift and unimpeded deployment of the peacekeepers.    Since the "Responsibility to Protect" was signed in September 2005, an extra million people require assistance, another half million have been driven from their homes, and thousands more have lost their lives. The conflict in Darfur has spread beyond Sudan"s borders, affecting hundreds of thousands of civilians in eastern Chad.    This September, our leaders must not look away: they must speak out as one and show their commitment to protect the people of Darfur and eastern Chad.    Some of the world"s most prominent women have today called for world leaders to do more to demand a ceasefire in Darfur.    In an open letter published in newspapers around the world on the eve of the Global Day for Darfur, twenty-six leading women - eight of whom have just returned from the refugee camps of Eastern Chad - state that the suffering of women in the conflict is "often overlooked".    The letters warns that the passing of a recent UN Security Council Resolution "has changed nothing". They urge the international community not to, ‘look the other way as the situation deteriorates and to, "step up the pressure on all parties in the conflict to agree to an immediate ceasefire".    Tens of thousands of people across the world are calling for urgent action to address the continuing murder, rape and devastation of lives in the Sudanese province.    Those signing the letter include parliamentarians, heads of UN agencies, academics, actresses and leading women"s activists. Signatories are drawn from across the globe. These women urge world leaders to use the upcoming UN General Assembly to put pressure on all sides to halt the violence.    THE LETTER IN FULL:    The crisis in Darfur and eastern Chad remains one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. The international community must not look the other way as the situation deteriorates.    While the strengthened UN African Union peacekeeping force agreed by the UN in July is welcome, it is unlikely to be fully deployed for another 12-18 months. The agreement of the force has also encouraged some in the international community to believe they have done all that they can.    Eight of us have just returned from the camps of eastern Chad, and for the women we met there, whose suffering is often overlooked, the resolution has changed nothing.    Insecurity continues; more people than ever in Darfur and Chad are in need of aid, and aid agencies are finding it harder than ever to keep them alive.    Tomorrow, (September 16th) tens of thousands of people across the world will mark the fourth global "Day for Darfur". They will call for urgent action to address the continuing murder, rape and devastation of lives in the Sudanese province.    As women from four continents we urge world leaders to step up the pressure on all parties in the conflict to agree to an immediate ceasefire. There must be more and better humanitarian assistance, and greater commitment to peace and peace-building. There is now a real window of opportunity for action - at the High Level meeting on Darfur in New York on September 21st, and at the United Nations General Assembly.    A comprehensive political solution is needed of course. But an effective ceasefire is the only way to put an immediate stop to the suffering affecting millions of people in Darfur and eastern Chad. Now is the time for world leaders to move beyond sympathy for the suffering. It is time to make it stop. Visit the related web page
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