Leaders of refugees camps have security concerns
By TANALEE SMITH, Associated Press Writer.
Aug 24, 2005 (Geneina) — Frustrated leaders of a refugee camp in the Darfur region of western Sudan on Wednesday told a U.N. official that security for the 13,000 inhabitants is a bigger issue than food, which is also scarce.
United Nations High Commission for Refugees chief Antonio Guterres held talks with leaders of the Riad displaced people’s camp on the outskirts of Geneina, capital of West Darfur state.
Guterres is on a 10-day tour of sprawling camps housing some of the millions of Sudanese displaced by fighting in both this volatile region and southern Sudan.
The UNHCR is trying to help Sudanese displaced by war to return to their homes, but only once security has been restored and each person has made the choice to voluntarily return.
“This is not your home. We need to create a way that you can return to where you came from but we will not force you in any way,” Guterres told some 45 male and female leaders of the Riad camp, who applauded his remarks. “When there is peace, when there is security, you can choose.”
Guterres is scheduled to assess his organization’s work in Darfur, neighboring Chad and southern Sudan, where millions of Sudanese have settled in camps after escaping violence and insecurity.
“This is the biggest displacement problem in Africa,” Guterres said of Sudan.
Sudan’s 21-year civil war in the south — which ended with a January peace deal — displaced more than 4 million people. Some refugees have started to return south from neighboring countries or areas within Sudan, Africa’s largest country.
Two years of violence in Darfur, western Sudan, has caused another wave of refugees. As of July 1, 3.2 million people in Darfur need humanitarian assistance and 1.9 million live in crowded camps in Sudan, according to a U.N. report released last week. At least 200,000 Sudanese live in refugee camps in neighboring Chad.
Guterres said he wanted refugees to return to their homes but acknowledged that the security situation would not yet allow this in Darfur.
“Return is the key of our policy,” he said. “We don’t want to keep people in camps. But return requires security, and there is no security without peace.”
While the intensity of the violence has decreased, looting and banditry have intensified, and violence against women is a continuing concern.
The fighting in Darfur began when rebels from black African tribes took up arms in February 2003, complaining of discrimination and oppression by Sudan’s Arab-dominated government. The government is accused of unleashing Arab tribal militia known as the Janjaweed against civilians in a campaign of murder, rape and arson. At least 180,000 people have died — many from hunger and disease.
Talks scheduled for Wednesday in Nigeria to try to end the Darfur conflict were postponed until Sept. 15, African Union envoy Salim Ahmed Salim said.
UNHCR efforts in West Darfur are concentrated on protecting refugees and monitoring their movements. Guterres planned to visit camps there plus a women’s center established by his agency to help respond to sexual violence and let women minimize the risks they face and find peer support.
AP/ST