Sudan bans UN emergency relief chief’s plane; Mission protests to Government

The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) today protested against the Government’s refusal to let UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland’s plane land yesterday in the country, which is suffering serious humanitarian problems in its conflict-torn western Darfur region as well in the recently pacified South.

Mr. Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, later arrived in Juba, capital of southern Sudan, by commercial plane from Uganda after the Sudanese authorities refused to authorize his UN flight. Today he is the southern town of Rumbek on the second day of what was scheduled as a five-day trip.

“UNMIS regrets the decision of the Government of Sudan not to welcome the visit,” the mission said in a statement. “In addition, the Wali (governor) of South Darfur stated that he strictly opposes Mr. Egeland’s visit.

“The Sudanese Permanent Representation to the United Nations in New York further stated that Mr. Egeland would be welcome neither in Darfur nor in Khartoum where he had planned to have discussions with the authorities,” the statement added.

Mr. Egeland’s visit from 2 to 6 April was scheduled to take him throughout the country, including to Darfur and Khartoum. He had notified the Sudanese authorities well in advance and discussed the upcoming visit with the Minister of Foreign Affairs during his visit to New York early March.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator planned to assess the humanitarian relief operation in South Sudan as well as in Darfur. Some $1.5 billion is being spent annually on that effort.

Mr. Egeland, who is a well-known champion of international humanitarian assistance around the world, is the highest UN official responsible for this operation. He is presently engaged in efforts to raise additional international funds for humanitarian assistance for the people of Sudan.

For the past three years he has been highlighting the plight of those caught up in the conflict in Darfur, where more than 180,000 people have been killed and 2 million more displaced in fighting between the Government, pro-government militias and rebels.

Peace talks are now under way in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, and Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative Jan Pronk met there over the weekend with Special Envoy and chief mediator Salim Ahmed Salim as well as with the main stakeholders of the different parties. He welcomed progress recently made on security arrangements and encouraged the parties to finalize talks on power and wealth-sharing.

An enquiry on Darfur set up by Mr. Annan found there had been war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both sides, but primarily by Government forces and militias. It referred a list of 51 as-yet undisclosed names to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for possible prosecution.

In the South of Africa’s largest country, UN agencies are heavily engaged in preparing for the return home of some 4.5 million refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) uprooted by a two-decade long war between the Government and rebels which ended with a peace accord 15 months ago.