U.S. Envoy: Darfur Funding in Jeopardy without Aid Access
Funding for the recovery of Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region is in jeopardy unless the government eases restrictions on international aid personnel, a senior U.S. envoy said on Wednesday.
Dane Smith, the U.S. administration's senior adviser for Darfur, also said militias are "seemingly out of control" and have been implicated in attacks on peacekeepers, yet the government shows little interest in prosecuting the culprits.
Darfur, in Sudan's far west, has endured nine years of conflict since ethnic minority rebels rose up against the Arab-dominated Khartoum government.
Although violence is largely down from its peak, more than one million people remain displaced in camps, villages have been razed, and overlapping conflicts continue, including rebel-government fighting, banditry, inter-Arab and tribal disputes.
An international conference to raise funds for Darfur's recovery is planned for early next year in Doha, under a peace deal signed in the Qatari capital last year between Khartoum and an alliance of Darfur rebel splinter factions.
The conference approaches as donors, including the United States, face an "increasingly difficult" time getting staff into Darfur to assess and supervise their aid projects, Smith said.
"This issue of access to Darfur must be resolved. It jeopardizes the Doha donor conference that is planned now for next year," he said, speaking during his final visit to Sudan, at the end of a two-year appointment.
"The issue must be resolved favorably. You can't have it both ways."
He said many USAID staff face a hard time getting visas, and then once they reach Khartoum "they've had great difficulties getting travel permits" for Darfur.
"We've also seen a squeeze on the U.N. agencies which are providing essential support in Darfur," Smith added.
The U.N. Security Council on July 31 expressed "deep concern at increased restrictions and bureaucratic impediments" to the movement of personnel from UNAMID, the African Union-U.N. Mission in Darfur.
Darfur's top official, Eltigani Seisi, agreed "there are some issues with access" but he told AFP in August that the government was trying to address them.
Smith said his biggest disappointment is the "very limited implementation" of the Doha peace deal, "particular of those provisions that bring tangible benefits to the IDPs (internally displaced persons) and refugees."
Among the deficiencies he cited is a shortage of funding for the Darfur Reconstruction and Development Fund, and lack of government action in disarming militias.
"Unfortunately we see the militias more and more seemingly out of control especially in North Darfur", Smith said, adding this could be linked to reduced financial support from a government facing economic difficulties.
Both militia and bandits have attacked UNAMID peacekeepers and although the government has announced investigations "there never are any results", Smith said.
For lawless elements of the population, "this means there's a perception that it's open season on UNAMID," which Smith called completely unacceptable.
Forty-three UNAMID peacekeepers have been killed in hostile action, including five in October.
"In our view the government of Sudan needs to show its commitment to the idea that UNAMID is a partner" in bringing peace and protecting civilians, he said.
Smith also commented on the case of four university students, originally from Darfur, whose death has sparked demonstrations in Khartoum since Saturday.
"We've also been very unhappy about the excessive force used against Darfuri students demonstrating for their rights" to free tuition under the Doha deal, the envoy said.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide allegedly committed in Darfur.
The court has also issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese Defense Minister Abdelrahim Mohammed Hussein.
Source: Agence France Presse
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