UN says Darfur efforts could collapse
March 25, 2007 (EL-FASHER) — The United Nations’ new humanitarian chief said on Sunday efforts to help Darfur could collapse if the situation there got any worse, and worried EU leaders called for tougher sanctions on Sudan.
As John Holmes toured the region, Germany joined British and American calls for extra sanctions on Sudan for barring U.N. peacekeepers from its vast western region.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, branding the situation in Darfur intolerable and Khartoum’s actions unacceptable, called for new sanctions on leaders responsible for the violence and for a no-fly zone to be considered.
An estimated 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have fled their homes in a conflict between rebels complaining that Sudan neglects Darfur and the government which has enlisted Arab militias to battle them.
It has caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
On his first trip as U.N. envoy, Holmes visited a camp for displaced people near El-Fasher, capital of the north Darfur region, a day after Sudanese soldiers barred him from a different one.
He said the well-established Salaam camp showed what could be done for people driven from their homes by a 4-year-old government-rebel conflict, but warned a “big incident” or further problems could scupper the humanitarian effort.
“People aren’t starving and health conditions are decent,” he told reporters at the camp. “This shows the enormous humanitarian effort that has been made here for three years, but this humanitarian effort is fragile.
“If the situation deteriorates, it could collapse. The risk is high, it is not imminent but if things deteriorate people (aid groups) may not want to maintain their efforts, which could lead to a humanitarian collapse.”
Sitting a few feet away from Holmes in a home made of rags tied to sticks was Fathiya Bakr.
The mother of four said she fled from violence at her village two years ago and walked for two weeks to get to the camp, relying on handouts along the way. She is still waiting to be registered with aid groups as a displaced person in order to secure humanitarian assistance.
“We are hardly given anything,” said Bakr.
MOUNTAIN HAMLET
In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the European Union wanted Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to allow U.N. peacekeepers into the country and comply with existing U.N. resolutions.
“We think of the people in Zimbabwe and Darfur. The suffering there is unbearable,” said Merkel, whose country is EU president. “We must look at stronger sanctions.”
Also in Berlin, Blair said:
“We need to get a new resolution in the United Nations which extends the sanction regime against the key individuals who are perpetrating this violence.”
“All of the countries that are permanent members of the Security Council have to play their part.”
Washington has long criticised China — a permanent member along with the United States, Russia, Britain and France — for not using its economic muscle to apply pressure on Sudan.
Blair said a no-fly zone should be considered to stop Khartoum using air power against refugees and displaced people.
Washington has said the government’s campaign amounts to genocide, a charge it denies. Khartoum and one rebel faction signed a peace deal in May but fighting has continued.
Sudan has blocked plans to deploy U.N. peacekeepers to replace African Union troops struggling to contain the violence.
(Reuters)