UN refugee chief calls for political solution to Darfur crisis
April 26, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres called on Thursday for a political solution to the civil war wracking Sudan’s western Darfur region.
“Without a solid peace agreement, it will be very difficult to solve the problem in all its dimensions,” the former Portuguese prime minister told reporters in Khartoum during his second visit to Sudan.
Guterres, who also visited eastern Sudan where there are 136,000 refugees from Ethiopia and Eritrea, described the crisis in Darfur as complex.
Explaining that the situation has political, tribal and ethnic dimensions, he said “the equilibrium in Darfur between the different groups that existed for centuries must be restored.”
Guterres praised Sudan’s recent agreement to a second phase of a UN plan to increase support for the beleaguered 7,000-man African Union force that has failed to stop the violence in the region.
“Obviously, it’s a major step forward and I hope these negotiations will be followed by another success,” he said, alluding to the third phase of the plan which envisions a hybrid UN-AU force of 20,000.
“I think it’s a very important element for the security of the region, but not the only element,” he added. “I think as important is the need for a comprehensive and effective peace agreement with all parties involved.”
According to the United Nations, some 200,000 people have been killed and two million displaced in the four-year conflict in Darfur that began as a rebellion and turned into a savage conflict involving government forces, tribes and villagers.
The conflict threatens to spill over into neighbouring countries to which tens of thousands of refugees have already fled.
In the course of his visit, during which he met local and international official, Guterres announced UNHCR’s plans to increase its role in Sudan, in Darfur, as well as the south and east.
He recognised the lack of international assistance to refugees who have been in this part of Sudan over the past 40 years and thanked the authorities for their generosity towards them.
(AFP)