Darfur situation ‘complicated and volatile’: UN
February 12, 2010 (WASHINGTON) –The situation in Darfur is moving in a positive direction but it remains “volatile and complicated” a top UN official this week.
The assistant Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Dmitry Titov, told the UN Security Council (UNSC) that the security situation in Darfur continued to be marked by sporadic fighting among rebel forces as well as between Government forces and rebel movements.
Citing restrictions on UNAMID imposed by the Government and rebels, he said it was crucial that all stakeholders respect freedom of movement for mission personnel.
Titov informed the UNSC that 70% of the Darfuri eligible population have registered for voting in the April elections though the IDP’s have boycotted the registration process.
Titov further said that the National Elections Committee (NEC) was unable to setup registration centers in some of the displaced camps in Darfur. He stressed that elected officials should ensure that they represent the interests of those who did not take part in the voting.
The Darfur rebel groups have instructed their loyalists in the region to boycott the registration calling the elections a sham.
Sudanese President Omer Hassan al-Bashir has promised the ballot will cover the whole country, including Darfur, in a bid, analysts say, to legitimize his rule after being indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in Darfur.
Titov warned that the freedom of speech and assembly in Darfur should be secured calling it “essential for effective campaigning”.
He noted that those basic freedoms were constrained under the 1997 emergency laws, which continued to be applied to the three states of the Darfur region. It would also be important to revise or suspend, before the elections began on 11 April, the national security law giving Government security services powers of detention without cause.
Although UNAMID had provided technical assistance to help the Government prepare the elections, he said, the National Electoral Commission continued to face enormous challenges, including the establishment of hundreds of thousands of polling stations and the transportation of large quantities of electoral materials to remote locations. However, the Commission had only requested limited assistance.
On the peace track, Titov said that UN-AU joint Chief Mediator Dijibril Bassole had worked to facilitate direct negotiation of a peace agreement, and consultations had included Darfurian civil society. Because negotiations have not yet started in Doha, they may continue talks after the elections contrary to Khartoum’s wishes that they be conclude prior to April.
Titov described Bashir’s meeting this week in Khartoum with President Idriss Deby of neighboring Chad as a “positive development”. Bashir and Deby agreed on Tuesday to end their proxy wars and work together to rebuild their border areas.
The two men’s decision to meet is seen aimed at bolstering security and credibility before impending polls in both nations. Ties between the two oil-producing states have been icy, with each capital backing rebels fighting to topple the other’s government.
(ST)