Insecurity in Darfur Hampers Aid Access

As UN Prepares New Resolution on Peacekeeping, Insecurity in Darfur Hampers Aid Access

Upsurge Reported in Violence Against Humanitarian Workers in Darfur; Africa Action Releases Analysis of Prospects for a Deployment of Peacekeepers

Thursday, July 12, 2007 (Washington, DC) – Yesterday, Ghana, Britain and France circulated a draft resolution at the United Nations (UN) to authorize a hybrid peacekeeping force for Darfur, of up to 26,000 troops and police. Africa Action today emphasized that decisive diplomatic and financial leadership by the U.S. at the UN is immediately necessary to ensure the widespread support for and troop contributions to the deployment of a robust peacekeeping mission.

In light of Sudan’s stated acceptance of a hybrid African Union (AU)–UN mission last month, Africa Action further stated that the U.S. must use its international leverage to ensure that deployment proceeds urgently. UN estimates currently indicate that such a peacekeeping mission will not be on the ground before 2008, anticipating a long process of soliciting troop contributions. Furthermore, the draft UN resolution establishes that command and control of the peacekeeping mission will remain under the UN, a potential point of contention with Khartoum. Africa Action urged that the international community not allow Khartoum to manipulate such negotiations to prevent concrete action to protect civilians.

Regional and international diplomatic actors in the Darfur peace process will be in Libya on July 15 and 16, to push for a return to the negotiating table. Over the past year, the rebel movements in Darfur have splintered into various groups, seriously complicating the prospects of a unified peace process.

Meanwhile, a UN report this week revealed that attacks against relief workers have increase 150 percent in the past year and that, in June, approximately one in six humanitarian convoys leaving the capitals of Darfur provinces was ambushed by armed groups. There are currently 13,000 aid workers in Darfur, providing relief to more than 4 million people, and violence has increasingly limited the ability of humanitarian agencies to reach populations in need. The UN report also showed that about two-thirds of the population in Darfur is now dependent on relief aid.

Nii Akuetteh, Executive Director of Africa Action, said today, “The security situation in Darfur is spiraling out of control. When humanitarian workers become targets of violence, their ability to provide life-sustaining aid deteriorates. While the upcoming Tripoli meeting attempts to pull the peace process back on track, it is imperative that the international community work to improve security conditions in Darfur immediately. Above all, the U.S. must show decisive diplomatic, financial and logistical leadership at the UN to insure that rapid deployment of the peacekeeping force begins now.”

This week, Africa Action released an analysis of the prospects of peacekeeping for Darfur. This resource highlights the persistent diplomatic obstacles to an effective deployment and calls for more concerted U.S. and international pressure on Khartoum. The statement, titled “Unkept Promises,” is available here.

Three activists with the organization Stop Genocide Now are currently visiting refugee camps along the Chad-Sudan border and posting daily video web-casts at the website These videos provide the opportunity for viewers to experience the immediacy of the ongoing genocide.

For more information on Africa Action’s Campaign to Stop Genocide in Darfur, visit http://www.africaaction.org/darfur.

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