IDPs in Darfur to increase; prosecution of perpetrators discussed

Unless a political settlement is soon reached on the conflict-ridden western Sudanese region of Darfur, and humanitarian agencies are given full freedom to operate, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) could reach three million by the end of the year, a senior UN official said on Wednesday. In May 2004, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs planned an operation to assist an estimated one million IDPs, Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, told journalists in Geneva. However, that number was now fast approaching two million, and unless an agreement was reached soon and humanitarian agencies were given full access, it could reach three million by the end of 2005, Egeland warned. He added that during his recent visit to Sudan, he had been shocked to find that there had been a substantial shortfall in funding for humanitarian relief in the crucial months following the historic southern peace agreement, signed on 9 January by the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army. "We need money and we need it now," Egeland said, noting that only US $25 million, representing 5 percent of the $500 million needed this year, had been received. Sudan’s foreign minister, Mustafa Osman Ismail, also appealed to the international community to step up its efforts in Darfur. "The government calls on the donor countries to accelerate their efforts to fulfill their commitment to provide humanitarian aid to the affected citizens in Darfur," he said in a press release on Thursday. On Wednesday, Nigeria proposed that perpetrators of gross human rights abuses in Darfur stand trial in a new African panel. This would be an alternative to trying them in the International Criminal Court, as recommended in the UN-appointed Commission of Inquiry’s report, presented to the Security Council on 16 February. In its report, the commission excluded the possibility of either establishing an ad hoc international tribunal, or expanding the mandate of an existing tribunal, saying these would likely prove unduly time-consuming and expensive. Twelve of the 15 Security Council members supported the commission’s recommendation. However, the United States proposed an ad hoc war crimes tribunal, claiming it could begin operating quickly because it would share infrastructure with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwandan in Arusha, Tanzania. Nigeria, which holds the African Union presidency, submitted its proposal ahead of the UN Security Council’s vote on a resolution on Sudan, which is expected later this week. The draft resolution, prepared by the US, seeks to authorise the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force of over 10,000 soldiers in southern Sudan. It also proposes to impose targeted sanctions on individuals responsible for the atrocities in Darfur, and to specify where perpetrators should be tried. Nigeria’s memorandum, addressed to the European Union, advocated an "African panel for criminal justice and reconciliation", while claiming that the proposal was supported by the government of Sudan. The war in Darfur has pitted Sudanese government troops and militias, allegedly allied to the government, against rebels fighting to end what they have called the marginalisation and discrimination of the region's inhabitants by the state. Over 2.4 million people continue to be affected by the conflict, 1.85 million of whom are internally displaced or have been forced to flee to neighbouring Chad.