FRESH ROUND OF UN-BACKED DARFUR PEACE TALKS TO START NEXT MONTH

United Nations-backed mediation talks aimed at resolving the long-running conflict in Darfur between the Sudanese Government and the region's armed movements will resume late next month, it was announced today.

The talks will not start until the last week of October, given the time needed for the many armed movements to complete discussions on their possible unification for the peace process, according to a communiqué issued by the joint African Union-UN peacekeeping force in Darfur (known as UNAMID).

Today's communiqué follows consultations in Doha, between Djibril Bassolé, the AU-UN Joint Chief Mediator for Darfur, and Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in Qatar, which has been sponsoring the mediation efforts.

Mr. Bassolé and Mr. Al-Mahmoud have invited the armed movements to take part in a capacity-building workshop in Doha in early October so they can discuss issues related to the peace process, including how to improve security for Darfur's inhabitants and how to boost socio-economic development in the region.

Mr. Bassolé and Mr. Al-Mahmoud have also agreed to organize a civil society forum in Doha before the start of final peace talks to allow the many Darfurian communities to discuss peace and reconciliation efforts.

Fighting has raged across the western Sudanese region since 2003, pitting the rebel movements against Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen. All sides stand accused of human rights abuses and an estimated 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur over the past six years and another 2.7 million people forced to leave their homes.

The efforts of mediators have been hampered by the fragmentation of the rebel movements into many different, smaller groups, making it harder for them to adopt a unified position during any negotiations.

In February, representatives of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) signed the Doha Goodwill Agreement with the Sudanese Government in an initial step designed to build momentum towards an enduring peace pact.

Today Mr. Bassolé and Mr. Al-Mahmoud welcomed recent initiatives in Libya and by the United States envoy, General Scott Gration, to try to unify the armed movements, and voiced hope that they would lead to greater cohesion among the rebels.

Meanwhile, the outgoing head of UNAMID has urged all Darfurians to come together to resolve the conflict in their region.

In an open letter to the people of Darfur, Rodolphe Adada, who is stepping down as the AU-UN Joint Special Representative, said he remained convinced that "our collective efforts will bear fruit in the near future and the situation in Darfur will gradually evolve from armed conflict to cessation of hostilities to achievement of peace and finally reach the realm of sustainable development."

AFRICAN UNION-UN PEACEKEEPING MISSION DONATES SUPPLIES TO WOMEN’S PRISON

The joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur today donated supplies to a women's prison in the western Sudanese region.

Following a request made last month for support by the detention centre in Khanaga, the operation, known as UNAMID, has contributed items, including cooking utensils and bedding. It also has approved the construction of accommodations for female prisoners.

Today's donation to the prison in North Darfur state is a manifestation of UNAMID's commitment to bolstering national institutions to allow them to better respond to people's needs, the mission said in a press release.

Earlier this month, staff from UNAMID's human rights and rule of law sections completed a four-day training course on human rights standards and prison management for 30 corrections officials working in North Darfur.

The training, the first of its kind in North Darfur, included such topics as the humane treatment of prisoners, particularly minors, pre-trial detainees and female prisoners.

The course, held in El Fasher, was funded by Switzerland through the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
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AFRICAN UNION-UN FORCE HOSTS ROUND-TABLE TALKS ON DARFUR PEACE PROCESS

The joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping operation in Darfur (UNAMID) convened a round-table discussion with the signatories to the 2006 pact that aims to bring peace to the Sudanese region.

In yesterday's talks, Rodolphe Adada, the Joint AU-UN Special Representative and head of the mission, urged all parties to support the ongoing peace process "because that is the only way to go in order to give a new lease of life to the [Darfur Peace Agreement] and, by extension, to the people of Darfur."

Some 300,000 people have been killed and an estimated 2.7 million others displaced from their homes in Darfur since fighting erupted in 2003, pitting Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen against rebel groups.

Mr. Adada yesterday hailed the signatories and participants of the Darfur Peace Agreement for their commitment to dialogue, peace, reconciliation and development since the pact was signed in 2006 between the Government of Sudan and rebel groups in Abuja, Nigeria.

"Those who embraced peace deserve to reap its dividends," he said.

The pact, he said, paved the way for the deployment of UNAMID, which has achieved success in protecting civilians and supporting aid agencies as they deliver humanitarian assistance, among others.

Participants, including representatives from the Government and groups such as the SLM Free Will and Popular Forces for Rights and Democracy, agreed that while progress has been made, more remains to be done in implementing the pact. They also called on the international community to play a more active role.
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JORDANIAN POLICE UNIT BOOSTS PRESENCE OF UN-AFRICAN UNION FORCE IN DARFUR

An advance party of Jordanian police officers arrived in Darfur today ahead of a larger deployment due later this month to strengthen the efforts of the joint United Nations-African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in the strife-torn Sudanese region.

The 46 members of the Jordanian formed police unit (FPU) will be responsible for setting up equipment and accommodation in preparation for the remaining 280 personnel scheduled to arrive on 28 August.

The entire unit will be divided into two and deployed to El Fasher and Kabkabiya in North Darfur state.

FPUs are comprised of police officers who have received specialized training in high-risk operations. Their main task is the protection of civilians, including through conducting community policing, especially in camps housing internally displaced persons (IDPs).

They also assist UN agencies in the delivery of humanitarian aid in Darfur, where some 2.7 million people have been displaced from their homes over the course of six years of conflict pitting Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen against rebel groups.

UNAMID expects to have 19 FPUs once it reaches full strength. Jordan is the fifth country to contribute a unit, following Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal and Nigeria. The force is expecting the arrival of a Senegalese FPU later this month.

Established by the Security Council in 2007, the mission is expected to have a total of 26,000 military and police personnel at full deployment.
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FEATURE: GIVING A VOICE TO THE VICTIMS OF SEXUAL AND PHYSICAL VIOLENCE

For nearly two and a half years, Roselidah Ondeko has been at work in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), helping local women find their voices to speak out about the epidemic of gender-based sexual and physical violence in the region.

Roselidah is employed by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and coordinates the programme on sexual violence in the provinces of North and South Kivu, which is financially supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). She is based in Goma, North Kivu's provincial capital.

The eastern DRC, which faces ongoing conflict between rebels and the Congolese army, is notorious for the high rates of sexual and physical violence against civilians, especially women.

"At the beginning it was very difficult to listen to all these stories and to see what these women had been subjected to. I had to confront it with colleagues practising the same profession," Roselidah explains in an interview with the UN News Centre on the occasion of Humanitarian Day, which is marked today.

But Roselidah recalls that these female victims of sexual violence who have come to seek medical and psychological support have decided not to succumb. "When you look at what they endured, you see that they have not given in. They have hope," she says. Moreover, rather than speaking of victims, she prefers to use the word 'survivors.'

Roselidah cites the example of a woman who had been raped, then abandoned by her husband. Under the programme she was given a goat as a source of revenue. That was in 2007.

"In 2008, when I met her, she already had six more goats," Roselidah says. "She said she felt she had to continue, because if she let things go she didn't know who would take care of her children."

According to data collected by UNFPA the number of reported cases of sexual violence has grown between January and June in South Kivu compared to the same period of last year. That could be explained, according to the Roselidah, by the relative calm in certain areas of the province.

"The survivors can now have access to medical care and psychological services and health workers can reach areas that were previously inaccessible because of insecurity," she explains.

The perpetrators of sexual violence are in the majority men in uniform, whether soldiers of the Congolese army or fighters from the rebel groups. "We see more and more children affected" by this sexual violence, Roselidah adds.

Before she arrived in the DRC, Roselidah was posted in the Darfur region of western Sudan and Uganda. When she compares the current situation with that in Darfur for example, the UNFPA staffer notes that the people in the DRC speak more openly of the sexual violence that has been perpetrated.

"In Darfur, women are very frightened to speak of sexual violence, and the health workers who care for them do it in the greatest secrecy," for fear of reprisals, she notes.
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DARFUR: AFRICAN-UN MISSION SETS UP UNIT TO INVESTIGATE GENDER-BASED CRIMES

The police component of the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping operation in Darfur has established a special investigations unit to monitor and report on crimes involving sexual and gender-based violence, a prevalent problem in the western Sudanese region.

The peacekeeping force, known as UNAMID, announced today that the seven-member unit has been set up in response to the high rates of sexual and gender-based violence recorded across Darfur in the past two years. Staff members have received specialist training for dealing with such cases.

The new unit will work to encourage victims of violence to report incidents to local law enforcement authorities, reduce the stigmatization of sexual abuse victims and help to rehabilitate victims.

It also aims to support local law enforcement agencies as they investigate a range of cases, including child abuse, child abandonment, prostitution, human trafficking, domestic violence and sexual harassment.

UNAMID said the unit would work closely with the police, non-government organizations (NGOs) and other agencies that deal with gender-related issues.

Sexual and gender-based violence remains widespread across Darfur, which has been beset by conflict and displacement for six years. An estimated 300,000 people have been killed and about 2.7 million others forced to leave their homes, with many women and children vulnerable to violent attacks, particularly when they are searching for scarce firewood.

Meanwhile, staff from the mission's human rights and rule of law sections have completed a four-day training course on human rights standards and prison management for 30 corrections officials working in North Darfur state.

The training, the first of its kind in North Darfur, included such topics as the humane treatment of prisoners, particularly minors, pre-trial detainees and female prisoners.

The course, held in El Fasher, was funded by Switzerland through the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
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MILITARY CHIEFS OF UN PEACEKEEPING FORCES IN AFRICA CALL FOR MORE TROOPS, EQUIPMENT

The military chiefs of the United Nations' largest and most complex peacekeeping operations urged Member States today to provide the troops and equipment necessary to carry out their missions in the war-ravaged regions of Darfur in western Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

"We have had a challenging time to meet all our mandated tasks because of the issue of deployment and lack of capabilities," General Martin Luther Agwai, Force Commander of the joint African Union-UN mission in Darfur (UNAMID), told reporters in New York.

The Security Council authorized the deployment of UNAMID to quell fighting and protect civilians in Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and some 2.7 million others forced from their homes since fighting erupted in 2003, pitting Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen against rebel groups.

UNAMID has stabilized the situation in Darfur, despite having less than 70 per cent of the authorized number of troops under the 2007 Security Council resolution setting up the force, said Gen. Agwai.

In addition, "we have been able to be one of the best sources of authenticated information of what is happening in Darfur," he said. "We have come a long way, but there are still a lot of challenges, no doubt about it."

At current strength UNAMID is unable to provide full-time security to all of the makeshift camps sheltering the millions of people who have fled the violence engulfing the region over the years.

"We have not been able to have a 24/7 protection coverage in most of the IDP [internally displaced persons] camps," said Gen. Agwai. "We have prioritized the most vulnerable and volatile camps."

He noted that some of the IDP camps have 90,000 to 100,000 people taking refuge in tents and makeshift shelters.

"The bigger the camps the more volatile and problematic they are and those are the ones with a 24/7 UNAMID presence," he said, including patrols that protect women when out collecting firewood.

With full deployment the mission would be more mobile and have a further reach, "instead of [looking like] very small ink spots on blotting paper. [We currently have] 32 spots, but we're beginning to expand and spread."

Gen. Agwai expected 92 per cent deployment by the end of the year, but stressed that there is little "point having boots without capabilities. Ethiopia has now pledged five [attack] helicopters to the mission … [but] to the best of my knowledge nobody has pledged one utility helicopter to the mission."

As a sign of UNAMID contributing to an increasing sense of security in the region, Gen. Agwai said that the incidence of rapes and assaults has been cut. "The number of people dying because of the crisis is down. The figure is now ranging from about 120 to 150 deaths in a month and not hundreds or thousands in a month as in the past."

The UN peacekeeping mission in DRC, known as MONUC, is effectively engaged in three separate military operations, said the operations Force Commander, Lieutenant-General Babacar Gaye.

MONUC is supporting the Congolese army (FARDC) in an offensive against the notorious Ugandan rebel militia, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) on one front; a group of remnant armed groups in Ituri province in northeastern DRC; and a Rwandan rebel force, known as the FDLR, in North and South Kivu.

"Our mission is so far the largest peacekeeping mission deployed around the world and we are facing all the challenges that peacekeeping have to face today," Lt.-Gen. Gaye told the press briefing. "This means the use of force, the protection of civilians and so on and so forth."

The latest bout of fighting between DRC troops and the rebel FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) and their local allies uprooted a further 35,000 people in South Kivu last month, bringing the total displaced there since January to 536,000, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). More than 1.8 million people are now internally displaced in the DRC's east.

Lt.-Gen. Gaye stressed the drastic need for extra troops on the ground to implement MONUC's protection mandate. "Everything is on track but unfortunately the first boots are still expected."

He said that MONUC is slated to soon receive a Bangladeshi battalion, an Egyptian battalion, a Jordanian special force company, an Egyptian special force company and a Bangladeshi engineer company.

"Unfortunately, we are yet to have the 18 helicopters that have been authorized by the [Security] Council," he added.
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JOINT AFRICAN UNION-UN ENVOY DISCUSSES BETTER SECURITY WITH DARFUR’S DISPLACED

The head of the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur met today with leaders of a camp housing some of the region's displaced to discuss improved security measures following the killing of a camp leader and his wife earlier this week.

The mission, known as UNAMID, has been monitoring the situation in the Abu Shouk camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the wake of the murders of Chief Umda Saroukh and his wife, who were shot by unknown armed men at their house near El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.

Rodolphe Adada, the Joint AU-UN Special Representative and head of UNAMID, noted that the mission had prioritized community policing on its agenda and the camp's residents needed to extend meaningful cooperation in the form of a joint approach to security and exchange of information inside the camp.

He urged unity among the leaders, stressing that their needs, challenges, concerns and interests were the same as those of the general population in the camps.

"UNAMID could only work well with a coherent and united team of leaders," he told the leaders.

Mr. Adada added that UNAMID was not in Darfur to replace the Sudanese Government, but to work with it to improve the safety and security of all Darfurians, especially the displaced.

An estimated 2.6 million people have been displaced in Darfur since fighting began in 2003, pitting Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen against rebel groups, and as many as 4.7 million people have been left totally dependent on humanitarian aid.

While expressing gratitude to UNAMID for its services to the IDP community, including education, the Umdas voiced their concern about their own protection and ongoing criminal activities in the camp, among other issues.

They also raised concerns that UNAMID's mandate did not extend to executive policing powers of arrest and detention. Further, the leaders requested that UN patrols work closely with them in deploying patrol vehicles to problematic areas in the camp.

The Umdas and UNAMID Police will further explore proposals put forward at today's meeting.

Meanwhile, the mission announced that the first batch of the Ethiopian Infantry Battalion comprising 151 personnel arrived today in Darfur, and another 151 are scheduled to follow tomorrow.

The remaining members of the infantry battalion – totalling some 800 soldiers – are expected to be deployed in September or October, helping UNAMID to advance toward its goal of 97 per cent deployment by the end of this year.

Established by the Security Council in 2007, the mission is expected to have a total of 19,555 military personnel at full deployment.

In a related development, the Joint Chief Mediator for Darfur, Djibril Bassolé, is in Tripoli, Libya, where he is meeting a number of Darfur rebel movements willing to engage in peace talks with the Sudanese Government.
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FIRST BATCH OF INFANTRY TROOPS FROM BURKINA FASO JOIN AFRICAN-UN FORCE IN DARFUR

New York, Aug 4 2009 1:00PM
The first infantry soldiers from Burkina Faso arrived today in Darfur to serve with the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission to the troubled Sudanese region, as more blue helmets from three other countries prepare to join the force soon as well.

An advance party of 134 soldiers arrived in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, with another 133 scheduled to arrive next Tuesday, according to the mission (known as <"http://unamid.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=888&ctl=Details&mid=1062&ItemID=5043">UNAMID). The remaining members of the infantry battalion – totalling more than 800 soldiers – are expected to be deployed by mid-September in El Geneina and Foro Baranga in West Darfur state.

Today's arrival means UNAMID now has 13,651 military personnel deployed across the region, or nearly 70 per cent of the authorized number of staff under the 2007 Security Council resolution setting up the force.

The mission also reported today that more troops from Ethiopia, Tanzania and Egypt are expected to be deployed in Darfur later this month, further boosting its strength.

The Security Council authorized the deployment of UNAMID to try to quell fighting and protect civilians in Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 have been killed and some 2.7 million others displaced from their homes since fighting erupted in 2003, pitting Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen against rebel groups.

AFRICAN UNION-UN PEACEKEEPERS IN DARFUR PRESENT FUNDING FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

The African Union-United Nations peacekeeping operation in Darfur has provided a financial boost of almost $250,000 for the construction of classrooms, toilets and water pumps in the violence-ridden region of Sudan.

Henry Anyidoho, Deputy Joint Special Representative of the AU-UN mission (UNAMID), presented the Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) funding, which will also cover the construction of an x-ray wing for a local hospital, to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) yesterday on his visit to South Darfur.

The visit took in the Kalma camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), where a school has been built with the QIPs funding.

Mr. Anyidoho inspected progress on work carried out by the UNAMID Chinese engineering company – including the construction of two water dams – following recent heavy flooding in the makeshift camp.

At the IDP camp, he met with sheikhs and other traditional leaders to discuss the living conditions and heard complaints over the absence of basic necessities for survival, such as food and water, amenities and social services.

The camp leaders also raised concerns over the ongoing operation of armed militias in the area, land occupation, guarantees of collective and individual compensation for IDPs and bringing to justice those accused of war crimes among other issues.

Meanwhile, UNAMID has reported that the security situation in Darfur is relatively calm except for some minor banditry and car-jacking in North Darfur.

The mission was also informed yesterday that chief Umda of Abu Shouk IDP camp and his wife had been shot by unknown armed men at their house near El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. UNAMID military and police are monitoring the situation in the camp and Sudanese Government police are investigating the incidence.
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WOMEN’S CENTRES RE-OPEN IN DARFUR WITH HELP FROM AU-UN MISSION

Female internally displaced persons (IDPs) will again be able to learn job skills, take literacy classes and receive awareness programmes on reproductive health after the joint African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) helped reactivate women's centres at an IDP camp in the Sudanese region.

UNAMID's Gender Advisory Unit has worked with the North Darfur state Ministry of Social Affairs to relaunch the centres at the Abu Shouk IDP camp on the outskirts of the state capital, El Fasher. The centres, which will be run by a local non-governmental organization (NGO), had closed last year.

The Abu Shouk centres are expected to carry out several activities aimed at helping women gain livelihoods, including tailoring, candle-making and handcrafts. There will also be adult literacy classes, and awareness programmes on women's reproductive health, and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

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FIRST GROUP OF REFUGEES LEAVE CHAD FOR NEW LIVES IN US – UN

As part of a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees programme, the first group of refugees has left Chad to begin new lives in the United States.

The 11 refugees are the first of a total of 1,800 resettlement cases – mostly Sudanese refugees from the war-torn Darfur region living in camps in eastern Chad – the agency plans to identify this year.

The group – who are heading for Kentucky, Texas, Iowa and Utah – which departed for the US by air from the Chadian capital N'Djamena on 21 June comprise refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR).

Currently, 250,000 refugees from Darfur are sheltering in 12 UNHCR-run camps in Chad's east. Additionally, 70,000 CAR refugees are living in five camps in southern Chad.

The US is the first country to promote resettlement for refugees in Chad, the agency said.

"Resettlement requires a very meticulous process and usually takes seven to nine months per individual case," said UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler.

The process includes interviews, medical screenings, counseling and cultural orientation sessions, and agency staff are trained to detect fraud to ensure they do not select refugees who are not eligible for resettlement.

"Resettlement is considered one of UNHCR's durable solutions for protracted refugee solutions, along with voluntary repatriation and local integration," Mr. Spindler said.

The next group of refugees, made up of mostly people who fled fighting in Darfur, is slated to leave for the US in July.
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TOP UN-AFRICAN UNION ENVOY MEETS DARFUR REBEL LEADER

TOP UN-AFRICAN UNION ENVOY MEETS DARFUR REBEL LEADER
New York, Jun 11 2009 6:00PM
The head of the joint United Nations–African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has reiterated that there is no military solution to the problems facing the strife-torn Sudanese region, as he met with the leader of a major rebel group.

Yesterday's meeting in North Darfur between Joint Special Representative Rodolphe Adada and the Chairman of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Khalil Ibrahim, was the second of its kind this year and part of a "continued effort to establish a good working relationship with all parties involved in the Darfur conflict," the mission said in a news release.

Mr. Adada once again urged that all efforts should focus on boosting the ongoing negotiations in Doha, Qatar, noting that "the problems that Sudan is facing now have no military solution."

He added that <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unamid/">UNAMID has been monitoring "with great concern" the recent fighting between JEM on the one hand and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Sudan Liberation Army –Minni Minawi faction (SLA/Minni) on the other. UNAMID helped provide medical care for the wounded combatants from both sides.

Mr. Adada renewed his appeal to JEM and all negotiating parties in Doha to commit to a cessation of hostilities as soon as possible, the mission said.

UNAMID added that Mr. Ibrahim expressed JEM's readiness for a cessation of hostilities in the context of a framework agreement and pledged to contribute to the improvement of the humanitarian situation and protection of civilians until a comprehensive peace agreement is reached.

Mr. Adada and Mr. Ibrahim agreed on a mechanism to improve communication and contacts between UNAMID and JEM, the mission said.

The Security Council established UNAMID in 2007 to protect civilians in Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 million forced from their homes since violence erupted in 2003, pitting rebels against Government forces and their allied Janjaweed militiamen.
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UN-BACKED ‘SMILE DARFUR’ CAMPAIGN WRAPS UP WITH CALL TO END VIOLENCE

UN-BACKED 'SMILE DARFUR' CAMPAIGN WRAPS UP WITH CALL TO END VIOLENCE
New York, Jun 7 2009 6:00PM
The week-long "Smile Darfur" outreach scheme, backed by the hybrid African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in the war-torn Sudanese region, has wrapped up with a call for peace and an end to the violence.

At yesterday's closing ceremony for "Ibatsim [Smile] Darfur," Henry Anyihodo, Deputy Joint Special Representative of the mission, known as <" http://unamid.unmissions.org/Default.aspx">UNAMID, <"http://unamid.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=888&ctl=Details&mid=1062&ItemID=4302">urged Darfurians, as well as all Sudanese, to "join your hands and hearts together to work for the peace, development and prosperity of your land."

He also emphasized that UNAMID will support efforts, in line with the Mission's mandate, to end the suffering of the people of Darfur, where some 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 million forced from their homes in more than five years of fighting, pitting rebels against Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen.

Mr. Anyihodo also underscored that although the international community would do as much as it could, ultimately, only Darfurians can ensure the peace process' success.

The campaign featured art exhibitions, music performances, poetry recitals and drama performances, as well as a football match yesterday in El Fasher between two teams from the nearby Abu Shouk camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

"Smile Darfur" was part of the celebrations to mark this year's International Day of Peacekeepers on 29 May, the date in 1948 when the first UN peacekeeping mission, the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), began operations in Palestine.
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DARFUR REFUGEES IN CHAD TO RECEIVE IDENTITY CARDS UNDER UN-BACKED SCHEME

DARFUR REFUGEES IN CHAD TO RECEIVE IDENTITY CARDS UNDER UN-BACKED SCHEME
New York, Jun 2 2009 2:00PM
Some 110,000 Sudanese refugees over the age of 18 in eastern Chad will receive identity cards under a new programme launched with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"The ID cards are the equivalent of a 'refugee passport' allowing free movement within the host country and providing access to some basic services in line with the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention," agency spokesperson Ron Redmond told reporters in Geneva.

The agency distributed the first 10 ID cards, which are printed by <"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/4a25473a4.html">UNHCR and issued by the Chadian Government, in a symbolic ceremony on Monday in Gaga refugee camp, near Abéché.

UNHCR noted that the joint initiative had been in the works since late 2006. Identity and age verification exercises in all 12 camps in eastern Chad hosting some 250,000 refugees from Sudan's war-torn Darfur region were initially scheduled to start in 2008.

However, ongoing insecurity in eastern Chad pushed back those exercises until this April. Some 37,000 refugees in Gaga and Farchana camps have been processed so far.

"We plan to distribute all 110,000 ID cards by the end of this year, provided that the verification process is not interrupted again," Mr. Redmond said. "Since the latest Chadian rebel incursion on 4 May, our regular daily access to refugee camps is still problematic due to security restrictions."

Meanwhile, UNCHR said that refugees from the Central African Republic (CAR) continue to arrive in small groups in the village of Daha, in south-eastern Chad's Salamat region, as well as in the vicinity of Danamadji in southern Chad.

Some 17,000 CAR refugees – who fled fearing fresh clashes between the Government and rebels – found shelter in six spontaneous sites which sprung up in Daha and Massambagne villages since mid-January, Mr. Redmond reported.

"In southern Chad, we now care for 73,000 refugees hosted in five refugee camps and six spontaneous sites," he said, adding that UNHCR teams in this part of Chad are providing protection and emergency assistance. It is also distributing shelter material and household items to all newly arrived families – mostly women and small children.

"Together with our partner agencies we secured refugee access to education and clean water and built latrines, and we are pre-positioning food-rations sufficient for six months. As of mid-June when the rainy season will start, the CAR refugees in south-eastern Chad will be basically cut off from assistance as it will be physically impossible to reach them," said Mr. Redmond.
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AFRICAN UNION-UN ENVOY CALLS FOR END TO CLASHES ALONG CHAD-SUDAN BORDER

AFRICAN UNION-UN ENVOY CALLS FOR END TO CLASHES ALONG CHAD-SUDAN BORDER
New York, May 20 2009 12:00PM
The joint African Union-United Nations envoy to the war-torn Sudanese region of Darfur today called for an end to fighting near the Chad-Sudan border and for the two nations to rein in mounting tensions.

In a press release issued in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, AU-UN Joint Special Representative Rodolphe Adada urged the Governments of the neighbouring nations to "refrain from any act that may lead to a further escalation of tensions, which could exacerbate the suffering of Darfur's civilians, particularly the many internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees in the region."

He urged Chad and Sudan to adhere to pacts they have signed, especially the 3 May Doha Agreement, facilitated by Qatar and Libya.

Reiterating what he told the Security Council last month, Mr. Adada stressed that "the poor state of relations between Chad and Sudan constitutes one of the biggest threats to efforts to secure lasting peace for the people of Darfur."

He also echoed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3863">statement from earlier this week that there is no military solution to the conflict in Darfur and the problems between Chad, Sudan and opposition groups in both countries.

"Dialogue is the only way forward," the Representative emphasized.
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AFRICAN UNION-UN ENVOY AND SUDANESE OFFICIAL DISCUSS RECENT FIGHTING IN DARFUR

AFRICAN UNION-UN ENVOY AND SUDANESE OFFICIAL DISCUSS RECENT FIGHTING IN DARFUR
New York, May 19 2009 5:00PM
The joint African Union-United Nations envoy to Darfur met with a senior Sudanese official today to discuss recent fighting in the strife-torn region and rising tensions between Sudan and Chad, a spokesperson for the world body said.

Marie Okabe told reporters in New York that the AU-UN Joint Special Representative, Rodolphe Adada, met with Minni Minawi, a former rebel who is now the Senior Assistant to the Sudanese President.

"They discussed the latest developments in Darfur, particularly the recent fighting between the Minawi faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA/MM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). They also discussed rising tensions between Chad and Sudan," Ms. Okabe said.

Fighting between the two groups flared up some ten days ago in the north Darfur town of Umm Baru. Mr. Adada said the AU-UN peacekeeping mission, known as <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unamid/">UNAMID, had taken 26 people injured in the fighting to the North Darfur capital of El Fasher for treatment at a military hospital.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday voiced his concern at recent violence and tensions in the border area between Chad and Sudan and called on all parties to cease fighting.

"He underscores that there is no military solution to the situation in the sub-region and urges the Governments of Chad and Sudan to refrain from any act that may lead to a further escalation of tensions," his spokesperson said in a statement.

Last week Mr. Adada met with the Under-Secretary of the Sudanese Foreign Affairs Ministry, Mutrif Siddiq, and Presidential Adviser, Mustafa Osman Ismail, during separate meetings in Khartoum.

In a briefing to the Security Council in April, Mr. Adada estimated that around 2,000 civilians have been in killed in Darfur since UNAMID deployed last year.

Some 15 peacekeepers have also lost their lives since the Security Council established UNAMID to protect civilians in Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 million forced from their homes in more than five years of fighting, pitting rebels against Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen.

Ms. Okabe said that in the past 24 hours, the military component of UNAMID conducted 72 confidence-building patrols, escorts, night patrols and investigative patrols in and around villages and camps for internally displaced persons.
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ICC/Darfur: Court Acts to Protect African Peacekeepers

Rebel Commander Expected to Appear Before the International Criminal Court

May 17, 2009

(New York) - The decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to summon a rebel leader allegedly responsible for the killing of African Union peacekeeping forces in Darfur underscores the gravity of attacks against those deployed to protect civilians, Human Rights Watch said today. Rebel commander Bahar Idriss Abu Garda is expected to appear voluntarily before ICC judges tomorrow to respond to the summons.

Bahar Idriss Abu Garda has been charged with war crimes stemming from an assault on an African Union base in Haskanita, South Darfur, Sudan on September 30, 2007 that killed 12 peacekeepers and civilian police officers from the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). At least eight others were seriously wounded. Abu Garda will be the first person to appear in relation to the ICC's Darfur investigation since it was opened in June 2005.

"This case signals the seriousness of deliberately attacking peacekeepers who are defending civilians," said Richard Dicker, International Justice Program director at Human Rights Watch. "We welcome Bahar Idriss Abu Garda's appearance at the court, which contrasts starkly with the Sudanese government's relentless obstruction of justice to the victims in Darfur."

The Rome Statute of the ICC allows the pretrial chamber to issue a summons to appear rather than an arrest warrant if the judges are satisfied that a summons is sufficient to ensure that the person will appear before the court. The ICC prosecutor made a request for a summons to appear in February 2009.

Peacekeepers are responsible for essential civilian protection activities, including patrols to protect women and girls when they leave displaced-persons camps to collect grass, firewood, and water. When these escorts have been provided, they have reduced the risk of rape and other sexual violence that is still widespread across Darfur. Repeated attacks on international peacekeepers have compromised the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations in Darfur, though. In the months following the Haskanita attack, AMIS adopted stricter security guidelines, curtailed all its activities, and confined staff to their bases, severely limiting its ability to protect civilians.

Security concerns remain a serious obstacle for the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) that took over peacekeeping in Darfur on December 31, 2007. The peacekeepers have repeatedly come under direct attacks from both rebel and Sudanese government forces, which have killed nearly a dozen peacekeepers since July 2008 - including two peacekeepers since March 2009 - and wounded many more. Since then, all of Darfur has remained at "UN Security Level 4," the second-highest security level, which is severely hampering the humanitarian operation.

"Attacks on peacekeepers further weaken the already-fragile security situation in Darfur," said Dicker. "While rebel attacks have not been on the same scale as the crimes committed in the Sudanese government's counterinsurgency campaign, they are nonetheless serious crimes that also have major implications for civilians."

Those killed during the attack on the Haskanita base included peacekeepers from four African countries. The African Union conducted its own investigation and in October 2007 issued a statement that identified the need to "bring the culprits to international justice." More recently, several North African states that are not ICC members have been critical of the court because of its focus on Africa to date. Although all four of the ICC's current investigations are in Africa, three were referred voluntarily by the governments where the crimes were committed, while the Darfur situation was referred by the UN Security Council.

"The criticism coming from a few non-ICC members that the court is anti-African inexplicably ignores the thousands of African victims whom the court is fighting to defend," said Dicker. "This criticism is even more dubious given the court's effort to try those allegedly responsible for attacks on peacekeepers from Botswana, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal."

On March 4, 2009, the ICC issued a warrant for the arrest of President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. The Sudanese government responded by expelling international aid agencies that provided life-saving assistance to more than a million people from Sudan, and blaming the ICC, adding further to the widespread abuses in which al-Bashir has been implicated.

Background

On March 31, 2005, the UN Security Council referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC prosecutor. The resolution requires the government of Sudan and all parties to the conflict to cooperate fully with the court and the prosecutor. In addition to President al-Bashir, the court has issued arrest warrants for two other men, the state minister for humanitarian affairs, Ahmed Haroun, and a "Janjaweed" militia leader, Ali Kosheib. Sudan has refused to hand over all suspects.

In November 2008, the ICC prosecutor submitted an application to the judges for arrest warrants for three rebel leaders, including Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, in relation to the Haskanita attack. In his application, the prosecutor charged the three suspects with war crimes for: murder and causing severe injury to peacekeepers; intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units, or vehicles involved in a peacekeeping mission; and pillaging. Judges are still examining the allegations in relation to the two remaining rebel suspects whose names have not been publicly released. In February 2009, the ICC prosecutor informed the court that due to the stated willingness of the three commanders to appear voluntarily, a summons to appear would be sufficient.

Darfur rebel hands himself over to ICC

The Aegis Trust welcomes the arrival in the Hague of Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, leader of the United Redemption Front (URF), in response to the summons issued under seal by the International Criminal Court on 7 May for his suspected role in the attack on the African Union base at Haskanita, North Darfur, in October 2007. This is the first time that an individual charged with crimes under international law has presented himself to court in response to a summons.

"Attacks on peacekeepers can never be tolerated and those responsible must be brought to justice," says Dr James Smith, Chief Executive of the Aegis Trust. "Abu Garda's arrival in the Hague increases the pressure on others to follow suit, not least the Sudanese Government, which has so far refused even to recognise the authority of the ICC, never mind send any of the suspects in its ranks to the Hague."

Abu Garda is one of the three rebel commanders previously subject to sealed indictments for the Haskanita attack, in which twelve AU peacekeepers were killed. It is widely believed that the URF is not the only rebel group facing the sealed indictments. The other suspects have yet to come forward, although the leaders of all the major rebel groups in Darfur have made statements of intent to cooperate with the ICC - most explicitly in a short film released through the Sudan Tribune on 2 March this year (see http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article30331).

GHANAIAN TROOPS JOIN UN MISSION IN CHAD, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

GHANAIAN TROOPS JOIN UN MISSION IN CHAD, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
New York, May 14 2009 12:00PM
Over 100 Ghanaian soldiers have joined the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the war-ravaged nations of Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR), it was announced today.

In a move welcomed by the mission, known as MINURCAT, 131 Ghanaian troops are in transit and will replace departing forces in the Farchana area of eastern Chad.

They will join 71 Ghanaian blue helmets deployed to <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/minurcat/">MINURCAT last March, and at full strength, the mission will include 800 peacekeepers from Ghana.

In September 2007, the Security Council approved the establishment in Chad and CAR, in concert with the European Union (EU), of a UN-mandated, multidimensional presence, including European Union (EU) military forces, to help protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian aid to thousands of people uprooted due to insecurity in the two countries and neighbouring Sudan.

On 15 March, UN peacekeepers took over the military and security responsibilities of EUFOR after the Council approved the deployment of an additional 5,500 blue helmets to serve with MINURCAT. However, deployment currently stands at half that level.

Eastern Chad faces an acute humanitarian challenge, with over 290,000 Sudanese refugees from the conflict in Darfur, Sudan, more than 180,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and a further 700,000 individuals among host communities in need of food, water and health care.

Northern CAR has also been affected by a spill-over from Darfur as well as by displacement resulting from other armed conflicts.
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