Annan: Sudan approach failing, reassessment needed to end Darfur conflict
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 22, 2004 (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on the Security Council Wednesday to urgently reassess its efforts to end the nearly two-year conflict in Sudan’s western Darfur region, saying the current approach is not working.
Both Annan and the council expressed deep concern Tuesday at the deteriorating security situation in the region where rebels and government-backed forces have repeatedly broken pledges to stop fighting and only 900 troops of a 4,000-strong African Union force have actually been deployed.
But the secretary-general went further Wednesday, saying “quite frankly our approach isn’t working.”
The council on Tuesday condemned repeated ceasefire violations and warned it would consider “a full range of options” to pressure both sides to comply with council resolutions if fighting does not stop. But no further meeting has been scheduled this month to address the worsening situation.
The comments came as a senior African Union official said the cease-fire declared this week by government and rebel forces “appears to be holding.”
“We have not heard of any fighting between the belligerents,” the senior A.U. political officer in Sudan , Jean Baptiste, said in a phone call from his office in Khartoum. “(The cease-fire) appears to be respected.”
However, aid workers said the insecurity continues. They said it was still impeding their ability to deliver food and other forms of aid to the 1.8 million people displaced by the 22-month conflict.
“We still have locations that continue to be inaccessible due to lack of security,” said World Food Program spokeswoman Laura Melo. The insecurity was due to bandits as well as fighting between the rebels and government soldiers.
“We are assisting an estimated 1.5 million people in need, but the number of those in need of assistance is close to 2 million,” Melo said in Nairobi Wednesday.
Two Security Council resolutions have threatened possible sanctions, but U.S. Ambassador Jack Danforth said earlier this month members will not consider such tough measures.
China, which imports Sudanese oil, has been most reluctant, but China’s U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya said Wednesday his government would consider further action if both sides are targeted.
“Whatever measure it is, we are going to study it, but it has to be targeted on both sides, not just on one side,” Wang said. “Clearly the information from the ground is that both sides are making the troubles, not one side. So we need to take a balanced approach.”
Annan added the situation was deteriorating and that people forced from their homes were suffering. “The African Union has not been able to put in as many forces as we had hoped and they need desperate help,” he said.
“What can the council do, working with the A.U. and others, to accelerate the rate of deployment and ensure that we have more troops on the ground to assist? What other measures can we take to put pressure on the parties and hold some of the individuals who are responsible accountable … for us to be able to move forward?” he asked.
Annan did not rule out another trip to Sudan , but said action is needed first in New York by the Security Council, whose resolutions have ordered that specific steps be taken in Darfur, including a ceasefire, disarming militias, and bringing to justice those responsible for the violence. He said he was prepared to work with council members.
“These kinds of decisions and actions have to be decided and taken here, and so while a trip to the region may sometime be necessary, the reassessment is urgent,” Annan said.