UN-AU Try to Revive Darfur Talks
Insecurity remains high in Sudan, Chad and CAR because of Darfur
The Darfur Peace Agreement has hardly lived up to its name but Special Envoys from the United Nations and African Union are trying to convince rebels to sign the pact.
Last month, United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon called the situation in Darfur, Sudan "the largest humanitarian crisis in the world." Currently, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Darfur, Jan Eliasson, and his African Union (AU) counterpart, Salim Ahmed Salim, are on a five-day mission aimed at rejuvenating the sluggish peace process. They are holding talks with rebels and Sudanese officials.
A year ago, the government signed the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) with one of the three main rebel factions. Reuters adds that on February 15, another rebel group said, after meeting with Eliasson and Salim, that they would honour the ceasefire and are prepared to negotiate.
The UN-AU team now intends to talk with National Redemption Front (NRF), Dafuri rebels, whose leadership is divided. The division amongst rebel groups has been a key factor in preventing the peace process from progressing. On February 19, however, rebels will try to unite their positions at a meeting in Khartoum.
Recent accounts suggest that attacks against civilians and humanitarian workers are still being committed in Darfur. The UN says that approximately 4 million people in the region rely on food and aid and insist that before anything can be improved in this volatile region, there must be a cessation of hostilities.
Related events
Meanwhile, in a town better known for its film festivals, Cannes is hosting the 24th France-Africa summit. Darfur ranked high on the list of topics to discuss. France's president, Jacques Chirac, stressed how the instability in Darfur has led to insecurity in the entire region.
The effects of the Darfur crisis have been felt in both Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR), where a chaotic cross-border flurry of rebel activity has displaced thousands. The governments of each nation have accused each other of backing rebels in other countries.
On February 15, at the summit, the leaders from Chad, CAR and Sudan agreed they would not support any rebel attacks on neighbouring states. On the same day, the UN Security Council proposed deploying a mission to defend civilians in eastern Chad who have been affected by the violence.
Also on February 15, Washington put pressure on African nations to offer troops to a joint UN-AU force in Darfur. Sudan's government, however, has yet to agree to the number of peacekeepers it will allow on its soil.
