Brussels, 26/01/2005 (Agence Europe) - The humanitarian situation in Darfur is not improving and requires the vigilance of the European Union. This was the message sent out by representatives of humanitarian NGOs at a round table held in Brussels on Wednesday between the European Commission, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament, the day after cooperation with Sudan was conditionally resumed (yesterday's EUROPE, p.5). The EU shares this view and hopes to keep up the pressure on the signatories of the peace agreement in order to obtain tangible progress on the ground.
Javier Solana, the EU's High Representative for common foreign and security policy emphasised this on Tuesday, when he received the Sudanese vice-president Ali Osman Al-Taha. Although he confirmed the EU's commitment to supporting the implementation of the overall peace agreement, he added that the total resumption of cooperation would depend on the full application of the agreement and on effective progress towards a solution for Darfur. On this, the High Representative called on the government of Sudan to respect to the letter its commitments under the N-Dajamena cease-fire agreement and the Abuja protocols concerning security and the humanitarian situation. He also expressed his hopes that negotiations with the Darfur rebels will make substantial progress at their next session, scheduled for February.
During a press conference on Wednesday, those taking part in the round table took stock of the situation. “We have come to relay the concerns of the humanitarian agencies and NGOs operating in Darfur, and to stress the urgent need to act. The situation is not improving. Fighting and violence are escalating”, said Sorcha o'Callaghan, speaking on behalf of a group of NGOs (including Oxfam, Christian Aid and Save the Children). She cited 10,000 new displacements of persons in December, camps overcrowded with displaced persons with inadequate hygiene provisions, victims of sexual abuse, permanent threats of kidnapping hanging over humanitarian workers, and the impossibility of covering all humanitarian needs due to the lack of security. “We call upon the European Union to act decisively, to remain involved, to keep up the pressure on all responsible and work more with the African Union for a faster deployment of its observers”, she said, convinced that “legitimate incentives to pay dividends of peace to the population must be accompanied by disincentives to continue the conflict”.
Pieter Feith, deputy Director General of the Council for politico-military affairs, representing Javier Solana, recognised the urgency of the situation. Confirming the EU's continued support to the African Union, he said “we would like to help the AU to increase the effectiveness of its military presence, depending on its needs”. It is in this spirit that he is planning a new mission to Sudan, planned for the end of February to assess these needs. “We are awaiting the AU's invitation”, he said. He feels that the conditional resumption of cooperation with Sudan “should not prevent the continuing reflection on possible sanctions”, if the report of the international inquiry commission on infringements of human rights and allegations of genocide, to be submitted to the Security Council on 2 February, justifies it. “We must wait for this report, which will spark discussion in the EU on possible sanctions”, he added.
MEP Ana Gomes (Portugal) also pleaded to increase pressure on the government and rebels to resolve the conflict in Darfur. She said that the EU should support recourse to the International Criminal Court, if the commission's report points the finger at specific ringleaders.