Sudan lifts NGO restrictions, urges peace on Arab tribes – US
May 18, 2006 (THE HAGUE) — Sudan is lifting travel restrictions on international agencies in the Darfur region, but pressure must be kept up on Khartoum to make sure it keeps its promises, the chief U.S. negotiator on Darfur said Thursday.
Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said he was also informed late Wednesday that the Sudanese government “has notified the Arab tribes in the region that any breach of peace would be met with a very strong response.”
The moves by Khartoum come at “a critical time” when the May 5 peace agreement needs to take hold in Darfur, said Zoellick, on a visit to the U.K. and the Netherlands.
It also comes as efforts are being made to boost peacekeeping capabilities during the transition from an African Union force to a U.N. mission, which could take several months, Zoellick reporters.
Discussions with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and with member countries of the Western alliance took place to aid African peacekeepers with greater intelligence, communications and logistics, said Zoellick.
More troops were being sought to bolster the 7,000-man African mission in Darfur. Rwanda was considering sending another 1,000 troops for the force, which must be funded by increased contributions from the U.S. and the European Union, Zoellick said.
Two weeks after an agreement between the Sudanese government and the largest rebel force, raids by Arab militia known as Janjaweed continue to be reported in Darfur, despite pledges by Khartoum in the peace accords to rein in the militias.
“In the case of the government of Khartoum, you always have to watch and make sure that these actions are taken,” Zoellick said.
Sudan has restricted access to the troubled region for several years to charities and non-government organizations, or NGOs, by either denying travel permits, delaying approvals or imposing high fees.
The restrictions were particularly harsh on human rights groups, said Leslie Lefkow, a Darfur investigator for Human Rights Watch. The New York-based group has been unable to visit the area since October, 2004, she said.
The promise to lift restrictions “means nothing until we see a change in practice,” she said, referring to previous commitments that she said Khartoum had violated.
Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution asking Sudan to work with the African Union, the U.N. and “international organizations” to accelerate the transition to U.N. control of peacekeepers in Darfur.
The resolution also threatened “strong and effective measures” – diplomatic language for sanctions – against anyone who stands in the way of the May 5 peace accords.
During talks with the Dutch government, Zoellick said the Netherlands had offered to host a donor conference in September for Darfur’s reconstruction and development.
“It’s a very fragile situation, and the peace accord is an opening, an opportunity, but we have to compliment it with active support on the security side, the economic side and the political side,” Zoellick said.
(ST/AP)