UN humanitarian chief holds “positive” talks in Sudan

March 26, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — The new United Nations humanitarian chief expressed hope on Monday the Sudanese government would cooperate more on helping aid workers reach those in need in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region.

But John Holmes stopped short of saying Khartoum offered any concrete assurances it would ease bureaucratic obstacles hindering aid groups.

Khartoum which has been accused of using red tape to deny aid groups access to victims of the Darfur conflict, and relief workers say violence has further hampered their efforts.

Holmes said Sudanese officials offered him encouraging words during talks in a “positive spirit.”

“They welcomed the humanitarian effort. … We have made useful progress but we still have a way to go,” he told a news conference in the Sudanese capital. “They recognize there are issues to be addressed.”

“What we want to be absolutely sure of is that if there is an agreement (on access) and if there are undertakings made that these undertakings are actually implemented on the ground in a consistent manner, and a manner over time,” he said.

Holmes, on his initial trip to Sudan and first mission as the U.N. under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, had a first hand taste of the difficulties of operating in Darfur during a tour of the region over the weekend.

A soldier at a checkpoint prevented him from visiting a camp for displaced people. The Sudanese government apologized to Holmes, who said he was convinced the incident was an accidental result of poor communications.

Holmes reiterated his concerns expressed during the Darfur tour that the humanitarian effort in the region — the biggest in the world — could collapse if the situation worsens.

The crisis in Darfur began in February 2003 when rebels took up arms against the government accusing it of neglect. The government countered by launching attacks and enlisting Arab militias to help battle the rebels.

Khartoum denies it backs so-called Janjaweed militias, whom it calls outlaws.

An estimated 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have fled their homes, triggering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Washington has said the government’s campaign amounts to genocide, a charge Sudan denies.

During Holmes’ Darfur visit, displaced people told reporters they were frustrated because years of talks with the Sudanese government had failed to produce results.

Asked how the U.N. could pressure Khartoum, Holmes said:

“The pressure we can exert is in talking to the Sudanese government, pointing out we are all trying to achieve, I hope, the same objective, which is keeping people in Darfur alive.”

Eight members of a Darfur former rebel group and two Sudanese police officers were killed in a clash on Saturday which threatened a peace deal signed with the group last year.

Minni Arcua Minnawi’s Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) was the only one of three Darfur rebel negotiating factions to sign a May 2006 peace deal with the government which many Darfuris reject.

(Reuters)