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Deepening Crisis in Darfur Two Months After the Darfur Peace Agreement: An Assessment ___________________________________________________________________
The report indicates that during May and June, at least 20 incidents were reported to have occurred; these mainly consisted of attacks on villages by armed militias (supported on at least one occasion by Government forces), clashes between militias and the SLA and intra-SLA fighting.
These attacks also resulted in the torture and killing of civilians and sexual abuse, including rape, as well as in further displacement of the population ............................................................................................ NO MAJOR IMPROVEMENT IN HUMAN RIGHTS IN DARFUR SINCE SIGNING OF PEACE AGREEEMENT, NEW UN REPORT SAYS 9 August 2006 There has been no improvement, and in some areas there has been a deterioration, in the human rights situation in Darfur since the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA), according to a United Nations report released today. The report, prepared by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the human rights office of the United Nations Mission in Sudan, says that although fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) lessened following the signing of the DPA, attacks by militias and rebel factions continued unabated, mainly in South and North Darfur. There has also been an increase in rape and attempted rape cases. The report calls the DPA an important document in that it calls on the parties to respect and promote fundamental human rights. However, in assessing the situation in Sudan since the 5 May signing of the agreement, the report underlines that the DPA's declarations will remain meaningless if the parties continue to violate the very principles they are meant to promote. "Civilian populations continued to be targeted by militia and the Government and rebel movements are in breach of the new ceasefire imposed by the DPA as well as the pre-existing Agreement on Humanitarian Ceasefire on the Conflict in Darfur of 8 April 2004", says the report. Even though the fighting amongst the parties decreased from the weeks leading to the signing of the DPA, post-DPA violence resulted in numerous civilian deaths and aggravated the already severe humanitarian situation in Darfur. The report indicates that during May and June, at least 20 incidents were reported to have occurred; these mainly consisted of attacks on villages by armed militias (supported on at least one occasion by Government forces), clashes between militias and the SLA and intra-SLA fighting. These attacks also resulted in the torture and killing of civilians and sexual abuse, including rape, as well as in further displacement of the population. Additionally, humanitarian assistance was severely hampered by the continuing fighting. By the end of June there were at least 250,000 people in need who could not be reached as the work of humanitarian organizations continued to be impeded by the high degree of insecurity". Since the report was finalized the security situation in Darfur continues to worsen. In the last week of July there was heavy fighting in North Darfur between GNU and SLA/MM forces against NRF and other rebel factions. At the same time, in villages surrounding Tawila, civilians perceived to support SLA/AW continued to be attacked by SLA/MM soldiers. The fighting has displaced an estimated 25,000 civilians in the last month. In this context, the report concludes that without additional Government support, the DPA is doomed to failure, with the population of Darfur continuing to suffer grave violations of human rights as violence among competing armed groups in Darfur persists. The report calls on the international community to urgently provide increased support to AMIS so that it is able to fulfil its expanded role in monitoring and verifying compliance with disarmament provisions, monitoring the security in IDP camps, ensuring that women and children in camps are protected from all forms of violence, monitoring police investigation and Government prosecution of crimes against IDPs, the establishment and enforcement of buffer zones and providing vital protection to civilians, humanitarian organizations and humanitarian supply routes, until such time as a UN peacekeeping operation is deployed to Darfur. * *** * =============================================================== To leave the list, send your request by email to: mailto:wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.