UN Security Council receives Humanitarian Briefing on Africa
By Scott Morgan
Dec 21, 2005 — On December 19th 2005 Mr. Jan Egelund who holds the most difficult position in the world that of being the Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs gave an impassioned briefing to the members of the United Nations Security Council. The subject of the briefing was the situation in the various crisis situations in Africa. The Under Secretary played particular attention to the situations in Darfur, the Ugandan-Sudanese Border and in Zimbabwe.
At this juncture there are millions of lives in jeopardy from various factors including war, famine and disease. During the presentation Mr. Egelund was quoted as saying “ The greatest contribution that we can make to addressing humanitarian crises in Africa is determined, energetic, and sustained efforts to bring an end to conflict and injustice that cause so much suffering in Africa”. That was a profound and bold statement.
It should be noted that at this juncture that both the African Union and the United Nations are both conducting security assessments in the strife ridden region of Darfur in Western Sudan. Depending on the findings of these reviews A UN Peacekeeping Force could soon find its way to the region either to augment or even replace the AU force already in place but which is suffering from logistical problems. There are also on again off again peace talks taking place in Nigeria under the stewardship of President Obassanjo. Regretfully there are reports and charges of rapes and killings continuing with impunity.
It is not difficult for a person or diplomat to determine if the conflict along the border between Sudan and Uganda are one in the same. The conflict has been ongoing for almost 20 years now with no signs of ending soon. In the past Uganda has been adamant about the issue being shielded from the scrutiny of the Security Council. This action has been believed to have been taken to keep its own atrocities from coming to light. One of the requested actions is to investigate how the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) has been able to create havoc in Northern Uganda, Southern Sudan and most recently an incursion into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. How that group receives arms and funds should also be investigated. But any investigation into the conflict must also investigate the actions of the UPDF (Ugandan Peoples Defense Forces) and the situations in the IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) Camps in the North of Uganda. Already there are reports that the size of rations will be reduced next year. Also there must be a concerted effort to protect civil society workers from reprisals from both sides in this tragic situation.
The situation in Zimbabwe has turned into a frustrating morass for the civil society groups trying to engage the Government of Robert Mugabe. Earlier this year Mr. Egelund himself traveled to Harare to get a first hand account of the situation there.
Recently President Mugabe turned down an offer of food assistance from the UN as he said that there was no famine in Zimbabwe. The Agricultural Output in Zimbabwe has literally collapsed since 2000 as well as freedom. Recently the editor and staff of an independent Radio Station were arrested amid reports that the Government is investigating the four main NGOs in the country that have been documenting the myriad of abuses that have been ongoing since the 2000 elections. If these NGOs are forced to close then any impartial documentation of abuses will be lost especially if the dreaded NGO bill is reintroduced as planned.
Recently the Council of Foreign Relations released a paper on what the priorities of the United States should be in Africa. Currently for FY 06 the Bush Administration is asking for $1.036 billion for UN Peacekeeping efforts in Africa. This is $ 200 million short of what it believes it needs. Adequate funding was lacking for key programs that deal with Conflict Resolution and Reconstruction. It was also felt that the US should increase its Diplomatic Role in the region and timely interventions by the Military and/or Sanctions are other means available to address trouble spots. We know what the US can do to resolve conflict but what of the other members of the security council what will they do in the future?
The Author is a Human Rights activist and Free lance writer based in Virginia. His writings have appeared on www.canadafreepress.com, www.frontpageafrica.com as well as the Richmond (VA) Peace Education Center News letter.
He can be contacted at [email protected] for more information or more specific material