35 replies to this topic

[Fluffybunny]

It appears to be equally hazardous to jump in too quickly too...

[Talon]

It appears to be equally hazardous to jump in too quickly too...

Indeed, but this 'do this by this date' ... okay 'this date' .... 'would would this date be acceptable' ... 'ok we're giving you one more warning' is equally getting us nowhere. People are going to die no matter what happens, but this appeasement is a joke.

[Homer]

If military force is used, who would lead it? If any nation other than the U.S., would that nation lead it even without the approval of the U.N. Security Council, and if so, how would the global community react? If America leads it, would we be considered imperialistic?

If we do nothing, who is to blame? The U.S.? The U.N.?

[Talon]

If military force is used, who would lead it? If any nation other than the U.S., would that nation lead it even without the approval of the U.N. Security Council, and if so, how would the global community react? If America leads it, would we be considered imperialistic?

If we do nothing, who is to blame? The U.S.? The U.N.?

I think everyone is moaning that the UN isn't doing anything, rather than no one is taking the charge against the UN's will.

[Talon]

Darfur crisis talks in deadlock

Talks to try to resolve the Darfur crisis have faltered again, as the UN warns the world is not giving enough financial aid to the refugees.
African Union mediators halted talks in Nigeria minutes after government and rebel delegates returned to the table.

Neither party had moved position since talks ended in deadlock on Friday.

The United Nations says $200m is needed to save the lives of more than 1m people displaced by conflict in Sudan's western region.

Some 10,000 people in Darfur are dying from violence and disease each month, says the World Health Organization.

The talks between the Sudanese government and the rebels - the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) - have been held up by differences over security and disarmament.

The government insists that the rebels lay down their weapons at the same time as the pro-government Janjaweed militia.

But the rebels say the Janjaweed are responsible for widespread atrocities and they must disarm first.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo may meet both sides later on Tuesday to try to break the impasse.

In other developments:


The US is expected to present a revised version of its draft resolution on Sudan to the UN Security Council

UK Minister for Africa Chris Mullin visits Sudan for talks with government officials, UN representatives and ceasefire monitors

Sudan is expected to be on the agenda at a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt on Tuesday
A team from human rights group Amnesty International is in Sudan to hold talks on Darfur.
Aid warning

Speaking to the BBC, the UN emergency relief co-ordinator Jan Egeland, said it was "mind-boggling" that what has been described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis was not attracting enough financial aid from the international community.

"The donors have to give us more money. We have now still only half of what we need for this year and unless we get much more money we will not be able to step up our work to the levels needed.

"We need another $200m - if we get that, we would get mortality rates down dramatically," he said.

His comments came after the WHO said that among those dying each month from violence and disease in Darfur were thousands of children under the age of five.

The WHO said the interview-based survey in West and North Darfur - carried out together with the Sudanese government - pointed to a monthly death toll of 6,000-10,000 people among the internally displaced population of about 1.2 million.

"Thousands, including thousands of children under five are dying every month from diseases which can be easily prevented and treated," WHO Director-General, Lee Jong-Wook said, urging an increase in emergency aid.

The survey also showed said many people did not have enough clean water and lived in crowded makeshift settlements.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3654196.stm

[Talon]

Darfur peace talks 'collapse'

Talks between Sudan's government and rebels groups aimed at ending the fighting in the Darfur region have broken down, rebels say.
The discussions in the Nigerian capital, Abuja have officially been postponed for at least three weeks.

But a rebel negotiator said: "The talks have collapsed already."

Meanwhile, Sudan has rejected a new US draft resolution, which contains a modified threat of sanctions against the government.

Some 10,000 people are dying from disease and conflict every month, according to the World Health Organisation.

More than a million have fled their homes since fighting began last February, in what the US says is a genocide against non-Arabs groups.

"The [African Union] is now suggesting to suspend the talks for four weeks, and for us it as if the talks have collapsed," Mohammed Ahmed Tugod, chief negotiator for the rebel Justice and Equality Movement, told AFP news agency.

The Abuja talks have been deadlocked for three weeks on the issue of whether rebels should disarm at the same time as the pro-government Janjaweed militia.

The government says the rebels started the conflict and so they should disarm at the same time.

But the rebels accuse the Janjaweed of widespread atrocities, including genocide, and say the Arab militias must lay down their weapons first.

'Unfair'

The new draft resolution said the UN Security Council would consider sanctions if violence continues in Darfur, instead of a direct threat of action if Sudan failed to disarm pro-government militias.

"This is imbalanced, unfair and we are rejecting it as we rejected the first draft," said Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail.

The US ambassador to the UN, John Danforth, said he hoped a vote would be held by the end of this week.

The new draft says the security council "shall consider" punitive measures, such as actions "to affect Sudan's petroleum sector", if atrocities in Darfur continue.

But the BBC's Susannah Price at the UN says the more indirect language is unlikely to satisfy China, Algeria or Pakistan - which oppose altogether the threat of sanctions against Sudan.

The previous resolution on Darfur, approved by the council in July, declared that the council "will take further actions" in case of continued violence.

The government denies backing the Janjaweed.


On Tuesday the UN again highlighted the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

It said $200m was needed to save the lives of more than a million people displaced by the conflict.

Speaking to the BBC, the UN emergency relief co-ordinator Jan Egeland, said it was "mind-boggling" that what has been described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis was not attracting enough financial aid.

The rebellion began last February, when two groups took up arms, accusing the government of ignoring Darfur.

Many of Darfur's nomadic Arab groups backed the government against the rebels, dominated by black African farmers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3659204.stm