UNAMID agreed to hand over six IDPs delegates from Kalma camp in Darfur -Sudan

September 1, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese government said today that the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID has agreed to hand over six delegates of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) suspected of instigating violence in Kalma camp last July.

The five Sheiks and a woman take refuge in the premises of UNAMID police center inside the camp since six weeks ago when local authorities accused them of organizing attacks against residents favorable to the peace talks in Doha between Sudanese government and Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM).

South Darfur Governor Abdel-Hamid Mousa Kasha said the six people are responsible of murder cases and have to face justice for these crimes. But, the later dismissed the charges and accused pro-government militias of carrying out the violence in the camp.

Suleiman Abdel Rahman Sudan’s Humanitarian Affairs Commissionner, told the pro-government SMC that UNAMID agreed to give away the six IDPs delegates during a meeting held in presence of officials from the central government and South Darfur government.

He added that they cleared up misunderstandings and convinced them that the defendants were the main cause of the events of the camp.

The office of the United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) last month in a note sent to the head of the hybrid mission Ibrahim Gambari reminded him that “UNAMID has a responsibility to protect civilians”. It also called to de-escalate tension saying the arrest of the sheikhs lead to more violence in the restive region.

However, Ban Ki-Moon’s office said the hand over of the IDPs only can be done under key legal conditions.

According to the note that Sudan Tribune unveiled on August 5, New York required that Sudanese government must commit in writing to: a) Take all necessary measures to ensure their protection and safety; b) Ensure they are not subjected to torture or to any form of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; c) Bring them to trial in accordance with international standards of justice, fairness and due process of law.; d) Grant UNAMID permission to visit them and monitor their conditions of detention and e) Guarantee that no sentence of death shall be carried out on any of them.

Suleiman said UNAMID has begun to prepare technical arrangements and procedures to hand over the IDPs delegates who would be tried fairly by Sudanese justice and would be granted all the legal rights.

The commissioner further pointed out the date of hand over has not yet been determined conclusively, adding it would be fixed as soon as possible after the completion of arrangements now under way with the Sudanese competent authorities.

The UNSG office said the hand over request must be made formally to UN Secretary General through the Sudanese foreign ministry and should be accompanied by a by a bona fide warrant.

Following a meeting that Gambari held with them on August 11, the six IDPs representatives told Sudan Tribune that Gambari asked them to accept the presence of Sudanese police besides UNMAID personnel in the camp. They also claimed that he threatened to hand them over to South Darfur state if they refuse.

However the UNAMID in a letter sent to Sudan Tribune dismissed the Sheikhs’ claims against Gambari.

The handover of the six delegates may stir up tension in Darfur IDPs camps and undermine the Doha peace process. “The government should therefore cease its insistence on the handover of the five sheikhs (and one woman),” said the UNSG office in its note to Gambari.

Nonetheless, South Darfur state said it would relocate Kalma residents in two different camps. The governor Kasha described the camp as “a den of criminals fleeing from justice” he further added that the proximity of Kalma to the airport increases the “security threat for UNAMID planes”.

Last week the governor inspected the camp for the first time since six years ago. He warned in a meeting with the residents that there would be no room for the supporters of the rebel SLM leader inside Kalma and pledged to provide humanitarian assistance for the IDPs.

The Kalma camp, located near Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, is home to over 90,000 people, most of whom are supporters of Abdel Wahid Al-Nur, leader of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement. Sudanese government forces targeted the camp in a raid that killed dozens of residents in August 2008.

(ST)