Aegis warns of catastrophic humanitarian threat for Darfur

Jan 29, 2007 — Following on from unprecedented warnings from fourteen UN agencies (17th of January) and six major humanitarian organisations (28 th January) citing serious security concerns as the cause for the worsening humanitarian situation in Darfur, international anti-genocide organisation, the Aegis Trust, today issued a plea to Governments to take the necessary steps to bring about security.

“This unprecedented warning from UN and other aid agencies working in Darfur must be a wake up call for Governments,” said Dr James Smith, Chief Executive of the Aegis Trust. “These organisations are the last line of help for 3 million civilians on the ground, and so far the aid workers and the people they are trying desperately help are being manifestly failed by the governments that profess to support them.”

The Aegis Trust maintains that three important steps are necessary to bring security to Darfur within months, and change the diplomatic dynamic that has so far stifled greater protection for civilians and aid workers:

The United Nations / African Union hybrid force must be fully operational and at full capacity by August 2007 with the mandate and strength sufficient to protect civilians and allow them to go back to their villages.

A no fly zone must be imposed over Darfur by April 2007 so as to end offensive flights over the region.

United Nations forces should start to deploy to Chad and the Central African Republic by March 2007 to prevent further large scale civilian loss and further destabilisation of the wider region.
With the Darfur conflict soon to enter into its fourth year and with little chance of a meaningful political settlement, untold civilian loss of life continues. Due to the continued security concerns, the aid agencies now have lost access to well over a million civilians, and aid operations have been increasingly hampered by attacks by armed gangs and Janjaweed militias.

For its part, the Sudanese Governments continued opposition to a UN deployment, its failure to adhere to previous commitments to a ceasefire, disarmament of the militias, or even in ending use of humanitarian and UN colours on its military vehicles and helicopters, further demonstrates its obtuse and malign policies.

Dr James Smith continued, “Failure to take action makes a mockery of all the strong words and policies about protecting people from mass atrocities that world leaders signed up to in 2005. There have been four years to solve the Darfur crisis, but it has demonstrated a collective failure to act. This follows a pattern of self-interested governments turning a blind eye to mass murder. People under threat in Western Sudan are desperate for a world leader prepared to show world leadership, to make the 21 st century an historic one in which millions of people will be rescued from preventable destruction. But if any world leader has such inclination, they must do it with urgency and determination, as time is running out for the people of Darfur .”

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Notes: UN agencies that issued joint statement ‘UN Agencies Warn of Threat to Humanitarian Work in Darfur’ on the 17 th of January 2007: International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) United Nations Joint Logistics Centre (UNJLC) United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) World Food Programme (WFP) World Health Organisation (WHO).

Humanitarian aid organisations that issued ‘Six aid agencies warn Darfur operations approaching breaking point’ press release on the 28th of October 2007 : Action Against Hunger, CARE International, Oxfam International, Norwegian Refugee Council, World Vision and Save the Children.