S/PV.5872 Security Council

I thank Mr. Adada for his own statement and also for reading out the statement by the facilitators of the political process. I now give the floor to Mr. John Holmes, Under- Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Mr. Holmes: Thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity to provide the Council with an update on the humanitarian situation to complement what members just heard from the Joint Special Representative. The Council first discussed Darfur four years ago this month. Sadly, many of the observations that my predecessor made at that time remain only too relevant today: growing numbers of displaced, continuing hostilities and violence against civilians, increasing humanitarian needs and limited access to beneficiaries. The difference is that almost six times as many people are now affected. Jan Egeland spoke in April 2004 of approximately 750,000 people in danger. Of Darfur’s estimated 6 million people, some 4.27 million have now been seriously affected by the conflict; 2.45 million are internally displaced, while an additional 260,000 have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. One year ago, I briefed the Council myself for the first time, following my first visit to Darfur as Emergency Relief Coordinator. I am sad to say that the humanitarian situation is as grim today as it was then, if not more so. In 2008 so far, a further 100,000 civilians have been forced to flee, many of them not for the first time. Nearly 60,000 were displaced in West Darfur alone. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel movement was responsible for initiating the latest round of violence there by attacking Government installations, including reportedly launching attacks from within civilian areas, with the civilian population bearing the brunt of the consequences. But military units of the Government of Sudan once again used disproportionate force and failed to differentiate between military and civilian targets in their response, including aerial bombardments. Last month’s report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted targeted attacks on civilians during that campaign, in particular through the use of Janjaweed militias to terrorize the population before the arrival of regular forces. Elsewhere in Darfur, too, hostilities between the parties, intra-rebel and tribal clashes, aerial bombardments and the resurgence of Janjaweed militias have resulted in death, displacement and widespread violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Cross-border attacks and support for each other’s rebel groups by Chad and the Sudan have further destabilized security in both countries, despite efforts to reduce tensions following the Dakar Agreement. Darfur today is therefore still characterized by insecurity, lawlessness and impunity. The effects on civilians are not difficult to imagine. Widespread human rights abuses continue to be reported in many areas. A particularly worrying feature is evidence of high levels of sexual violence and exploitation in the northern corridor of West Darfur over the past two months — for example, judged by the dramatically increased number of women and girls seeking treatment for the effects of those brutal acts and statistics for sexually transmitted infections treated at local health clinics. In my previous trips to Darfur, I met women who had the courage to tell me some of their stories, while the authorities have continued to deny that any such thing could exist in their country. Sexual violence in Darfur is not a figment of our collective imaginations. I call upon the Government, which has the primary responsibility for the protection of its citizens, to take concrete steps to address this scourge, and on the armed groups to help stamp it out. The humanitarian community itself is also subject to constant violence. Since the start of the year we have seen 106 vehicles hijacked — 46 United Nations and non-governmental organization vehicles and 60 trucks contracted to the World Food Programme (WFP). One WFP-contracted driver has been killed and 26 drivers are still missing. The rate of hijackings is more than 350 per cent higher than even the already alarming statistics of 2007. So far in 2008, 42 humanitarian premises have been assaulted, and six aid workers killed. Rebel groups and individuals associated with them appear to be primarily responsible for the attacks on convoys and hijackings, whether their motives are military or criminal. All that is seriously jeopardizing efforts to deliver aid, and in particular to preposition relief supplies ahead of the rainy season. It also comes at a time when several key humanitarian indicators are getting worse, including those on malnutrition, which is now in excess of emergency threshold levels in many areas of Darfur. That may sound a sadly familiar story, if no less unacceptable for that. But we need also to be aware of the cumulative effects of continued violence, stress and upheaval in Darfur. Those in the camps feel helpless and voiceless. The fear of never being able to return to their areas of origin and the pressure by Government authorities to return when conditions are clearly not right lead to increasing tension, polarization, politicization and even militarization. But the conflict and the continuing degradation of traditional social structures after five years of fighting and flight have serious consequences not just for the stability of camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), but more fundamentally for the long-term stability of Darfur itself. How many will be able, or indeed even willing, to return to their previous lives when peace finally arrives? Normality cannot simply be suspended for five years or more and then resume as if nothing had happened. That problem is aggravated every month that passes without peace. Meanwhile even relatively untouched rural communities are increasingly vulnerable and require our assistance in growing numbers. In some areas, for example, the price of staple commodities such as millet has doubled since this time last year. That partly reflects the global phenomenon of rising food prices and partly unfavourable weather, but it is also a result of general dislocation and neglect as so many fields go untilled and infestations of disease and pests go unchecked. Unfortunately, we cannot always access those rural communities. It is inevitable that some of their inhabitants too will end by migrating to IDP camps — many of which are currently well beyond capacity — in search of assistance. We are already seeing this in Al Salaam camp in south Darfur, where approximately 1,000 newly arrived families remain unregistered, with 17 deaths among that group during the month of March alone. There is a risk that developments will take an even more serious turn. The World Food Programme announced last week that it would be forced to reduce its food distributions next month. Regular attacks on its convoys, in particular on the roads from Kordofan to El Fasher in north Darfur and Ed Daein in south Darfur, mean that they have simply not been able to preposition food stocks as necessary and cannot now catch up without a radical transformation of the position. That means that the amount of food provided to the conflict-affected men, women and children in Darfur will be halved in a matter of days. That heart- breaking decision could not come at a worse time, as the agency continues to struggle in any case to deliver to its existing beneficiaries as the rainy season approaches. During that period malaria, water-borne diseases, respiratory infections and other illnesses normally cause mortality to increase in Darfur. The effects on those further weakened by poor nutrition are likely to be much worse. Global acute malnutrition in children under the age of five, for example, which is already in excess of emergency thresholds in many areas of Darfur, could double. It is therefore vital that the Government of the Sudan does much more to protect those convoys and that the armed groups stop such attacks by anyone associated with them, as well as halting all attempts to extract so-called taxes at checkpoints along the roads. The African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur is also looking at how it can help. Meanwhile, I appeal to the donor community to redouble its efforts to ensure that key under-funded sectors such as health, nutrition and water and sanitation receive the rapid support they need. I am pleased to say that the moratorium on restrictions and the joint communiqué on the facilitation of humanitarian assistance in Darfur, which were extended at the end of January, have helped to alleviate bureaucratic obstacles. I am grateful to the Government of the Sudan for improved cooperation in that area, but the humanitarian operation still faces other obstacles. Those agreements do not, for example, ensure physical access to IDPs and other vulnerable groups. Humanitarian workers are too often blocked by military intelligence, national security elements or civilian police, seemingly at random. Those denials of access serve no discernible purpose aside from frustrating relief efforts and increasing suffering. The Government of the Sudan can therefore do much more to help on the humanitarian side. In areas under its control, the Government should improve security for civilians and the international community, in accordance with international law, and ensure more freedom of movement for relief organizations. The Government should disband once and for all the Janjaweed militias and put an end to impunity for those who commit crimes — including banditry, the killings of civilians and rape — by actively seeking out those responsible and prosecuting them. As an increasingly prosperous country, the Sudan should provide more assistance to its population, rather than continuing to allow the international community to shoulder virtually all the financial responsibility. Rebel movements are responsible for many of the threats facing civilians and the relief operation. They too can do much more. They should stop endangering the lives of civilians by the kind of attacks that are bound to provoke a response in civilian areas, with predominantly civilian casualties. All groups should stop attacking humanitarian vehicle convoys and premises, control all those within their ranks and punish those responsible. The movements should ensure safe humanitarian access and assistance and show respect for basic humanitarian principles. They should ensure the civilian character of IDP camps and villages. In spite of those challenges, 14,700 international, national and local relief workers continue, wherever and whenever possible, to provide life-saving assistance. I spoke a year ago of the fragility of the operation. That has increased as time has gone by. But the agencies, organizations and individuals involved have refused to be intimidated. I salute their determination and that of donors. However, even if the humanitarian presence at times can act as a deterrent to violence against civilians and our efforts sustain the lives of millions, humanitarians still cannot provide what is fundamentally lacking. I am saddened and angry as Emergency Relief Coordinator that, after five years of that suffering and four years since the Council became actively engaged, we have still not been able to find a lasting solution to the suffering of those millions of men, women and children. A study in 2006 suggested that 200,000 had lost their lives from the combined effects of the conflict. That figure must be much higher now, perhaps half as much again, yet we continue to see the goalposts receding, to the point where peace in Darfur seems further away today than ever. Further progress in the deployment of UNAMID, equipped to protect civilians and improve security, will help, but only an end to all violence and concrete steps towards a political settlement will make the fundamental difference needed, as the rebel movements themselves above all need to recognize. Otherwise, the reality is that the people of Darfur face a continued steady deterioration of their conditions of life and their chances of lasting recovery. I said at this time last year that I hoped from the bottom of my heart that I would not be back here one year later to repeat the same messages, but the reality is that I have come here today to give the Council even worse news. In the absence of any real progress towards a solution, whatever the efforts of the international community and the Council, profound human suffering will continue to grow in Darfur.

I thank Mr. Holmes for his briefing. In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, I now invite Council members to informal consultations to continue our discussion on the subject.