Darfur donors conference fails to come up with targeted funds, host Egypt makes no pledge

March 21, 2010 (CAIRO) — A conference for international donors at the Egyptian capital has missed the $2 billion funding target for the reconstruction of war ravaged region of Darfur and instead raised less than half of this figure amid concern on how the money will be used.

The one-day conference in Cairo was organized by the 57-nation Organization of The Islamic Conference (OIC) and included representatives from the U.S., European nations, U.N. agencies and aid groups.

The United Nations estimates that as many as 300,000 people have died and another 2.7 million been left homeless, since rebels in Darfur first began their campaign against the central government in 2003. According to the Sudanese government, only 10,000 have died.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit told the closing session that 746 million had been raised for the western Sudanese region, but more donations came after the end to bump the figure up.

“I was just told that the number went up to 850 million” after a 100-million-dollar donation from the European Union, said Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, head of the OIC.

Countries that made pledges included Algeria, Australia, Brazil, Qatar, Morocco and Turkey, Aboul-Gheit said.

Ihsanoglu told reporters after the meeting that the United States, European countries, Australia and Japan promised generous aid and pledged continued support for the people of Darfur. He gave no figures.

But one participant said the donations were likely to be poured into projects directly “because they don’t want the cash to be in the hands of [Sudanese President Omar] Al-Bashir” who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“The Darfur issue is mainly an issue of development,” Aboul-Gheit said as he urged donors to make significant pledges.

“We are convinced that the key is to improve development and raise the standard of living for the Darfur citizen,” he told delegates.

However, to the surprise of many Egypt made no monetary pledges to Darfur though one African diplomat said that this was to be expected.

“Egypt does a lot for Sudan, through many channels. It is not a big surprise that it does not make a contribution at this conference,” an African participant told Agence France Presse (AFP).

Several Western countries refrained from making pledges citing security concerns.

“In the absence of proper conditions on the ground, our focus remains on humanitarian assistance,” a representative from Norway said, echoing the view of several Western diplomats in attendance.

“Our presence here constitutes a political message,” one Western diplomat told AFP, adding his country would not contribute pledges because of “the uncertainty of how the money will be used or channeled.”

Qatar, one of the principal donors, proposed the establishment of a bank where funds would be poured and channeled to the six sectors agreed by Sudan’s government including agriculture, education, health, housing and water.

The Arab Gulf state has hosted two successful ceasefire agreements between Khartoum and Darfur rebel movements over the course of last few weeks including Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) which welcomed the conference though it expressed some reservations.

“A comprehensive social and economic survey should have preceded the conference to determine the priorities of Darfur in reconstruction and development total costs, so that donors build up their obligations on this basis” a statement by JEM read.

JEM called upon the donors “not to make the Cairo Conference, a repetition of the regional and international defective, the inability of donors to fulfill their commitments”.

Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur head of the legacy Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) said that he fears that the conference will enforce the “lawless and insecure” status quo in Darfur.

“Only when you achieve security in Darfur and protect the IDP’s from rape and extermination can you then move to start working on development and reconstruction,” Al-Nur said.

The return of refugees is one of the most contentious issues in the conflict. A majority are displaced within Darfur, but some also fled across the border to neighboring Chad.

Refugees fear the government is forcing their return to their villages or other areas to erase the most sore manifestation of the conflict without actually dealing with the causes of the rebellion.

They also complain that the Sudanese government moved populations around to alter the ethnic makeup of the region. Some refuse to return except to their original villages and not to newly built communities.

Some experts say a change of population centers is inevitable because the return of refugees to their original villages – many of which were torched and destroyed – is inconceivable because of drought and lack of adequate water resources in some cases in the vast, arid region.

Ibrahim Gambari, the Joint Special Representative of the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), said at the conference that the situation faced by IDP’s cannot be sustained.

“This situation is not sustainable and will, in the long run, lead to donor fatigue, collapse of the established service system and the breeding of social vices that can cause serious harm and damage to the host communities and society as a whole,” he warned.

“Increasingly, IDPs are seeking employment and other opportunities in a bid to become more self-sufficient,” he added.

(ST)