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OAU refugee conference opens in Sudan

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, speaking yesterday at the opening session of a three-day OAU ministerial conference in Khartoum, warned that Africa’s refugee problem posed an “imminent catastrophe,” while international assistance was diminishing, news agencies reported. In his opening address, OAU chairman and Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, deploring the number of armed conflicts on the continent, called on Africans to “return to reason, respect human rights and protect minorities,” news agencies said. Delegates from some 45 African countries are attending the meeting, aimed at finding durable solutions to the problem of refugees, returnees and displaced persons on the continent. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council on Friday was considering a request by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to allow UN participation at the Khartoum conference, news agencies said. Sanctions imposed by the council against Sudan in 1996 call on international and regional organisations not to convene conferences in the country.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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