Insecurity persists in Darfur: UN representative
GENEVA, Aug 3 (AFP) — Insecurity and human rights violations continued in Sudan’s strife-torn western region of Darfur, according to a representative of the UN secretary-general, who stressed his concern over the return of displaced persons to the region.
Francis Deng said Monday after a mission to Sudan from July 25 to August 1: “Contrary to official statements about improvement of the security situation and the voluntary return of the displaced, I found a situation of persistent insecurity and human rights violations as the paramount concern of the displaced.”
The representative of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a statement he “was particularly concerned about many accounts and reports of persistent rape of women outside the camps.”
He called on the Sudanese government to guarantee the victims of rape access to medical treatment and to bring those responsible to justice.
Deng said: “While most of the displaced I spoke to expressed a desire to eventually return to their places of origin, they all strongly affirmed their unwillingness to return at this stage due to the prevailing situation of insecurity, mainly because of continued attacks by the so-called Janjaweed militia and other armed actors.”
The return home of the displaced could only be possible by applying the right of voluntary return in conditions of security and dignity, Deng said.
The United Nations estimates that up to 50,000 people have been killed in Darfur and more than a million have fled their homes, 200,000 of them seeking refuge in neighbouring Chad.
Deng carried out his mission at the invitation of the Sudanese government.