U.N. and African Union top officials review Darfur situations
September 22, 2008 (UNITED NATIONS) – The African Union and the United Nations reviewed in a joint meeting the political, humanitarian and security situations in the war torn of Darfur where they conduct joint efforts to end the five year conflict.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and AU Commission Chairperson Jean Ping, who jointly convened the gathering of senior officials from the two organizations, heard briefings on the latest developments on the ground in Darfur. However the meeting discussed mainly the deployment of the hybrid peacekeeping force.
Sunday’s meeting, held at UN Headquarters, also focused on the recent decision of International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo – who is visiting New York this week for talks with international leaders – to seek an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes discussed the deteriorating security situation and its impact on efforts to bring aid to those in need across Darfur, a region roughly the size of Spain on Sudan’s western flank.
Joint UN-AU Special Representative Rodolphe Adada noted that the situation has been relatively calm over the past few days, following the recent upsurge in violence, especially in North Darfur.
Under-Secretary-General for Field Support Susana Malcorra told the meeting about the current challenges to the full deployment of UNAMID, the hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force. The operation is slated to have about 26,000 troops and police officers when it reaches its peak, but currently has around only 10,000 uniformed personnel in the field.
The officials also reviewed Mr. Adada’s activities, voiced the need for an early normalization of relations between Sudan and neighbouring Chad, and highlighted the importance of expediting the political process in Darfur.
In addition, they discussed the so-called Qatari initiative, which is aimed at furthering efforts to broker peace between rebels, the Government and the allied Janjaweed militiamen.
(ST)