Annan discusses Darfur emergency with representatives of civil groups

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan met today with representatives of leading non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to hear their views and discuss how better to focus attention and generate action on the emergency in Sudan's Darfur region.

The Secretary-General stressed as critical the ability of NGOs to operate without restrictions in Darfur – including to report freely on violations of human rights and humanitarian law, which are continuing on a daily basis, a spokesman for Mr. Annan said in a statement.

Mr. Annan also expressed his deep concern about the rising level of threats against relief workers in Darfur, and called on all parties to ensure their safety and security, the statement said.

For their part, the NGOs discussed the urgent need for further action by the Security Council – including on the question of adopting targeted sanctions and on referring the Darfur situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC), as recommended by the International Commission of Inquiry appointed by Mr. Annan to probe allegations of human rights abuses.

The participants pressed hard for a greatly expanded force to focus on the protection of civilians, and stressed the need for action now on all these issues, expressing concern about delays in the Security Council.

Today's meeting follows one Mr. Annan held three weeks ago with Security Council members in which he discussed his worries that the international community was not moving fast enough to deal with Darfur, where several tens of thousands of people have died, and some 2 million people have been forced from their homes, including 200,000 who fled the vast and impoverished region to neighbouring Chad.

Meanwhile, Jan Pronk, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Sudan, met yesterday with Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha. Their talks touched on the mandate for the newly established UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) – which will have 10,000 troops and more than 700 civilian police to help enforce a peace agreement that ended a separate conflict that had racked the south for two decades – and the need for further talks on Darfur. Mr. Pronk also raised his concerns about the communities of IDPs around the capital Khartoum.

According to the UN Mission, incidents of looting and banditry continue to be reported in Darfur, and the African Union is investigating. There also were reports that rebel groups attacked some villages Saturday in South Darfur state.