Top UN relief official seeks swift resolution to departure of NGO head

United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes has voiced his concern over the expulsion from Sudan of CARE’s Paul Barker, and urged that the matter be resolved quickly so that the Country Director of one of the world’s largest international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can resume vital humanitarian work.

“I am disappointed that Mr. Barker had to leave the country in this way. The reasons given by some Government officials to Mr. Barker for his departure appear to be specious,” said Mr. Holmes, who is also Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. “I very much hope that this is actually a misunderstanding that can be resolved as soon as possible so that Mr. Barker may resume his vitally important humanitarian activities.”

CARE, which has operated in Sudan for more than a quarter of a century, is a significant provider of humanitarian assistance to some four million people across Sudan, and is a vital partner for the UN humanitarian community.

Mr. Holmes stressed that the manner of Mr. Barker’s departure has clearly undermined both the spirit and letter of the Joint Communiqué on the Facilitation of Humanitarian Activities in Darfur, signed earlier this year by the UN and the Government of Sudan.

The communiqué has relieved many bureaucratic impediments to humanitarian work in Sudan, including by helping to secure visas and work permits for aid workers and by making it easier for relief goods to clear customs.

Mr. Holmes noted, however, that issues such as those now faced by CARE are “a disturbing example of how far we still have to go,” adding that enabling Mr. Barker to resume his important work “would send a positive signal to the international community that the Government of Sudan wishes to further strengthen its partnership with humanitarian actors.”

There are currently about 12,300 aid workers in the war-torn western Sudanese region of Darfur, including almost 900 international staff. They provide assistance to an estimated 4.2 million people, including 2.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), suffering since 2003 from the deadly conflict between rebel groups, Government forces and allied Janjaweed militias.