The Situation in Darfur
World Mobilization Urged for Darfur Accord, Action
Secretary Rice urges nations to seize "momentous opportunity" to restore hope
By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- At the request of the United States, foreign ministers of the world's major powers met in the U.N. Security Council May 9 to discuss the future of Darfur.
The foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, Russia, China, France, Congo, Tanzania, Greece and Austria and senior government officials of Denmark, Argentina, Japan and the Netherlands joined U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at a public Security Council meeting to help chart a way out of the devastation and humanitarian crisis now that the Sudanese government in Khartoum and the main rebel group have signed a peace agreement.
The agreement was signed in Abuja, Nigeria, May 5. (See related article.)
Calling on nations to "seize this momentous opportunity to restore hope to the people of Darfur," Rice said that it is extremely important that the international community mobilize now to ensure the recently signed peace agreement goes into force "so that the people of Darfur can be safe and secure and ultimately return to their homes."
The council meeting is "an important signal from the international community that we support the peace agreement," she said. "But everybody now recognizes this needs to be implemented."
Darfur is a test for the international community and the United Nations, Rice said. "The plight of the people of Darfur stirs the conscience of all human beings. But conscience alone will not feed starving people, and save innocent lives, and bring peace to troubled lands.”
The humanitarian crisis in Darfur "is not a challenge for Africa alone, or for America alone. It is a challenge for the entire community of nations, and it is one that should not be taken lightly," the secretary said.
The secretary of state called on nations to contribute urgently needed food supplies to the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) and asked the Security Council quickly to approve a U.S.-sponsored resolution that would accelerate arrangements for a more robust peacekeeping force under U.N. command in Darfur. (See related article.)
"We recognize that the African Union [AU] force has done an excellent job but that their work now has expanded. The African Union requested a new mission. This resolution would make certain that we are ready to honor that request," Rice said.
SECRETARY-GENERAL STRESSES NEED FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that the high-level meeting -- which was convened 24 hours after President Bush's urging -- shows that the international community realizes "what a historic opportunity we now have to bring peace to Darfur and how urgently we need to act if that opportunity is not to be lost."
The secretary-general called on the leaders of all rebel factions to sign the agreement, adding that all nations must do whatever they can "to convince them to choose peace over conflict for the sake of their people."
Citing the dire conditions in the region, Annan also warned that it is not the time for "anyone to bask in congratulations or rest on their laurels." The secretary-general stressed that a short-term plan to bolster the AU force to provide protection "is only a stopgap solution" and a larger, more mobile U.N. force needs to be put in place as soon as possible.
Riots broke out in the Kalma refugee Camp in Darfur and one AU interpreter was killed May 8, hours after U.N. humanitarian aid coordinator Jan Egeland left the camp. Demonstrators were demanding a U.N. peacekeeping force. Earlier in May, WFP was forced to reduce daily rations because of its dwindling food stocks and shortfall in contributions.
The United States has contributed about 85 percent of WFP's available food supplies. President Bush has asked Congress for $225 million in emergency funding for food aid for Sudan, $150 million of which is earmarked for Darfur, Rice reported.
The Netherlands has offered to hold an international donors’ conference for development and reconstruction later in 2006. Rice said that the United States will attend and urged other nations to do so as well.
The secretary-general, however, appealed to nations not to wait for the conference. Donors "need to be very generous, starting right now. We cannot afford to lose a single day," he said.
The foreign ministers praised the efforts of the African Union and others in negotiating the peace agreement, especially Congo President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, the AU president; AU Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare; Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo; AU chief negotiator Salim Salim; and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick. They also praised the United States and the United Kingdom for their generous aid contributions.
For more information on the Sudan peace process, see Darfur Humanitarian Emergency.