Progress in aid delivery in Sudan, but not refugee protection : UN

NEW YORK, July 21, 2004 (dpa) — The U.N. special envoy for Sudan said Wednesday that Khartoum has allowed more access for relief workers into the western region of Darfur, but has so far failed to implement agreements to provide security and protection for people displaced by militia fighting.

Jan Pronk, a former Dutch government official who also served the U.N. for decades, was presenting to the U.N. an assessment of the situation in Sudan and how the government there was carrying out a set of agreements aimed at easing the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

The assessment would help the 15-nation council decide whether to impose sanctions on the Khartoum-backed Arab militias known as Janjaweed and the Sudanese government itself.

Pronk told reporters before meeting the council that “no progress” had been made in providing protection for the tens of thousands of internally displaced persons. The U.N. said more than 1 million civilians have fled their homes because of fighting, causing a humanitarian crisis of “catastrophic” proportions.

Early in July Secretary General Kofi Annan and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell visited Sudan to pressure Khartoum into taking measures aimed at ending the militia war in Darfur and helping the displaced people.

The U.S. has asked the council to impose an arms embargo and a travel ban on the Janjaweed and their leaders. The measures could be extended to Khartoum as well if it fails to improve the humanitarian crisis.