2/2/2007
Ban Ki-Moon Calls on African Union to Show Unity of Purpose in Darfur

Calling the situation in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region “the largest humanitarian crisis in the world,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called this week on Africa’s leaders to use the same unity of purpose and partnership with the UN that brought peace to Burundi and Sierra Leone.

“Together, we must work to end the violence and scorched-earth policies adopted by various parties, including militias, as well as the bombings which are still a terrifying feature of life in Darfur,” he told an African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The conflict between Sudanese Government forces, allied militias and rebel groups has killed at least 200,000 people and displaced more than 2 million others.

“Life-saving humanitarian work must be allowed to resume, and civil society in Darfur must have a voice in the peace process. And we must persuade non-signatories to join, while building consensus for the urgent deployment of a UN-AU force on the ground,” he said, referring to rebel groups seeking greater autonomy who did not join in a peace accord signed last May.

In a 90-minute meeting on the summit sidelines with Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir, Mr. Ban urged him and all parties to cease hostilities and grant humanitarian access. He told reporters afterwards that Mr Al-Bashir agreed to facilitate such access, and expressed willingness to cooperate with international efforts toward that end. He also called for an early Government response to plans for a hybrid UN-AU force in Darfur of 17,000 peacekeepers and 3,000 police.

In his summit address, Mr. Ban also urged the leaders to bring unity of purpose to other intractable crises “that bleed like open wounds on the face of the Continent,” such as the conflicts in Somalia and Côte d’Ivoire. He noted how the UN-AU partnership helped to resolve the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where last November’s elections, the
first in more than 40 years and the largest such support operation in UN history, were “a remarkable peacekeeping achievement.”

“Liberia, too, shines as an example of what can be achieved through our collective will for peace and security in Africa,” he added.

He drew on his own experiences as a child growing up in war-torn Korea in the 1950s to deliver a message of hope to Africa. “I have seen the hardship and hunger, the degradation and disease, that come with prolonged warfare,” he said. “Elderly women scavenging for scraps, toddlers weak from malnutrition and unsafe drinking water, buildings dilapidated, corn fields rotting, an infrastructure on its knees.

“This I witnessed as a young boy, and the images haunt me to this day. But I also witnessed how, through unity of purpose, my country was able to transform itself from a traumatized nation with a non-existent economy, into a vibrant, productive society and a regional economic power,” he added. “Let us bring the same unity of purpose to bear on development in Africa.”

Elsewhere Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator Margareta Wahlström said Darfur was becoming one of the most dangerous areas in the world for aid workers, with many places and roads now either deemed “no go” or extremely insecure, making it difficult to reach those in need, especially in North and West Darfur.

“Every day there are more people who need our help, yet our colleagues are being threatened by all sides,” she said in a statement. “We need all parties to stop the fighting and attacks. We finally need an effective ceasefire, after almost four years of relentless violence," she said.

About 4 million people across Darfur, an impoverished region roughly the size of France, depend on 13,000 relief workers from UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for basic aid and services, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The situation continues to deteriorate: more than 2 million people are internally displaced, with another 25,000 added to that total last month alone. Fighting continues between Government forces, allied militias and rebel groups seeking greater autonomy, and officials have warned that the conflict threatens to spill over into neighbouring Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR).