Global Policy Forum

The U.N. Security Council expressed concern Tuesday at Sudan's decision to bar the U.N. humanitarian chief from visiting Darfur and called on all parties, including the government, to provide greater cooperation with the United Nations.Earlier Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed "regret" at the government's refusal to allow Undersecretary-General Jan Egeland to visit the conflict-wracked western region. Annan will try to speak to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir about the government's actions, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya, the council president for April, said members "share the concerns of the secretary-general" and want a briefing from Egeland when he returns to New York. Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hedi Annabi briefed the council Tuesday morning on the latest information about Egeland. Despite having a visa for Sudan, he wasn't only barred from traveling to Darfur and the capital, Khartoum, but prevented from flying over Sudanese airspace to visit refugees from Darfur in neighboring Chad. "During this briefing, members called on all parties, including the government of Sudan, to provide more cooperation to the important missions of the United Nations," Wang said.

Fighting in Darfur over the last three years has left about 180,000 dead - most from disease and hunger - and displaced another 2 million from their homes. Egeland has called the situation in Darfur and Chad the worst humanitarian crisis in the world at the moment. Dujarric said "the pressing and urgent humanitarian requirements of Darfur are a priority for the United Nations and coordination efforts to sustain this large program were at the center of Mr. Egeland's visit." The program costs about $1.5 billion annually. In addition to the humanitarian crisis, the Security Council is also trying to prepare for the transfer of peacekeeping duties in Darfur from a 7,000-strong African Union force to a better equipped and more mobile U.N. peacekeeping force.

The AU's Peace and Security Council decided in principle on March 10 to keep its force in Darfur until Sept. 30, when the handover to the U.N. is expected. But Sudan is vehemently opposed and has been lobbying African countries to oppose a U.N. takeover. Wang said Security Council members "expressed their concerns about the humanitarian situation in Darfur, and also...expressed their strong support for the African Union mission in Darfur."

U.S. deputy ambassador Jackie Sanders said before Wang spoke that the U.S. wanted a strong statement on Egeland being barred from Darfur. "We think that's more Sudan stonewalling," she said. "The government of Sudan needs to cooperate with the U.N. particularly on the deteriorating humanitarian situation." The U.S. also wants the U.N. Secretariat to ask for visas for a U.N. assessment team to visit Sudan because until that team is on the ground, preparations for the transition from an AU to a U.N. force can't get started, Sanders said. But she said Annabi was reluctant because of the anticipated negative reaction from the Sudanese government. "We said request the visas, let the government of Sudan respond, and we'll all decide how to respond to their response," Sanders said.

By contrast, Wang said the views of Sudan and African countries are important on the future of the peacekeeping operation in Darfur because "you need the consent and the cooperation of the government of Sudan." The Chinese ambassador said the international community wants peace and an end to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, and the best way to achieve those goals is to try to get Sudan to cooperate and not to threaten or impose sanctions - which Beijing opposes as a matter of principle.

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