Global Policy Forum

By Stephanie Nebehay

The United Nations, criticised for reacting slowly in crises, plans a rapid reaction force of aid workers to be deployed in refugee emergencies, such as that of Sudan's Darfur, a top U.N. aid official has said. Able to move at just three or four days notice, the force would provide some initial protection for civilians fleeing internal conflicts, who are highly vulnerable to violence, including murder and rape.

Major Western donors had already backed the proposal, to be made formally in May, for an initial 100-member team, said U.N. emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland. "There is great interest from the United States, United Kingdom, and Scandinavian countries. They are ready to fund and set it up," Egeland told Reuters. "I think it will happen this year," he added.

Such a force could have helped to contain the killings and rapes that escalated last year in Sudan's western Darfur region, where nearly two million refugees are exposed to attacks by Janjaweed militia, rebels and government forces, Egeland said. Although the force would be unarmed and small, relief agencies say that the very presence of international aid workers on the ground can deter violence because the perpetrators know that their acts will be witnessed.

Egeland was speaking at the launch of a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council showing 25.3 million people in 49 countries are homeless within their own countries after fleeing conflict. The majority, 13.2 million, are in Africa, in 19 countries.

Dennis McNamara, director of the U.N. inter-agency division for internal displacement which is finalising the plan, said that the roster should list experts available within 96 hours. "To respond to a new Darfur -- heaven forbid -- you need experienced managers in the field quickly," he told Reuters.

The team could be drawn from aid agencies such as the Norwegian Refugee Council, former staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as governments.

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