Avoid needless Darfur suffering, say church aid agencies
-02/05/06
As diplomatic effor
Avoid needless Darfur suffering, say church aid agencies
-02/05/06
As diplomatic efforts reached new heights of intensity this evening, the UK Catholic aid agency CAFOD and the US ecumenical aid coalition Church World Service were among the many global NGOs warning that unless the warring parties in Darfur, Sudan, reach a peace agreement, hundreds of thousands of lives will be needlessly put at risk.
Under pressure from Muslim and Christian groups, as well as human rights lobbyists, senior US diplomats joined todayís push to find a solution. The Sudanese government, Sudanese rebels (who have been stalling the deal), the African Union and the UN are central players, along with European and US politicians.
The deadline for reaching agreement fixed by the African Union mediators was extended from Sunday until midnight on Tuesday (2 May 2006), following pressure from the United States. This evening UK development secretary Hilary Benn announced that a further extension until 3 May had been arranged. Talks have been continuing for nearly two years in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.
If the talks fail once again then the future of the two million people forced from their homes by the conflict in the Sudanese region will be put at risk, say observers.
Already the United Nations World Food Programme has halved rations in Darfur due to lack of funds and money is also running short for many of the aid agencies working in the region. Without the support of the humanitarian community, many lives in the region could be at risk.
On Sunday, thousands of Americans of virtually every age, religion and background gathered together in Washington DC, San Francisco and other cities across the country to rally and urge the Bush administration to take decisive action to bring an end to the killing in Darfur. George Clooney was among the celebrities who gave the rally additional coverage.
At the Washington Rally, Church World Service Executive Director the Rev John L. McCullough declared: “What is happening in Darfur is simply wrong and a moral outrage. The people of Darfur no longer have time for diplomatic courtesies, and we have no patience for partisan politics,”
He added: “Already hundreds of thousands have died, and far too many others are at risk of the unrelenting tide of death that is sweeping across hot desert sands.
“The time for political posturing has expired,” said McCullough, whose organisation is an expression of ecumenical aid cooperation in association with the National Council of Churches USA. “The time for decisive action is now. Hear us when we say, ‘we are America and we are Dafur.’ We have reached the moment of our moral imperative, the intertwining of our lives, and we see our common destiny.”
Meanwhile CAFOD is a leading member of a programme in Darfur which helps around 500,000 people providing food, health care, clean water and sanitation. This year it is expected that the programme will have to make serious cuts in the absence of new funding for Darfur. Unless the peace talks succeed, then it is highly likely that the displaced population will need high levels of support well into 2007.
CAFOD’s Director of International Programmes, Lesley-Anne Knight said: “The one thing that the people of Darfur need above all else is peace. Unless peace is restored to Darfur, people will not be able to return home, they will not be able to support their families and they will continue to be forced to depend on assistance from aid agencies such as CAFOD.
She continued: “With funding to support the humanitarian effort in Darfur dwindling, CAFOD, along with other major aid agencies, now faces the prospect of having to make difficult decisions about where to make cuts in our programme. Although we will try and mitigate the effects of those cuts as much as possible, it is unavoidable that they affect people on the ground who are in desperate need of support.î
Declared Ms Knight: “If peace is not restored and the level of funding available further drops, then CAFOD, together with other major aid agencies, will be forced to consider the future shape of its humanitarian programme. Further lives could be needlessly lost.”
[Also on Ekklesia: Churches and NGOs rally for Darfur as crisis deepens; Churches urge Sudan government to end hostilities; Christian aid partners address UN over Sudan; Catholic aid agency appeals to PM over Sudan; Christian aid agencies unite for Sudan; Archbishop spotlights Sudan suffering in Easter message to churches; Protests as Egypt vows to expel hundreds of Sudanese refugees; Christians arrested during Washington protest over Sudan]
Avoid needless Darfur suffering, say church aid agencies
-02/05/06
As diplomatic efforts reached new heights of intensity this evening, the UK Catholic aid agency CAFOD and the US ecumenical aid coalition Church World Service were among the many global NGOs warning that unless the warring parties in Darfur, Sudan, reach a peace agreement, hundreds of thousands of lives will be needlessly put at risk.
Under pressure from Muslim and Christian groups, as well as human rights lobbyists, senior US diplomats joined todayís push to find a solution. The Sudanese government, Sudanese rebels (who have been stalling the deal), the African Union and the UN are central players, along with European and US politicians.
The deadline for reaching agreement fixed by the African Union mediators was extended from Sunday until midnight on Tuesday (2 May 2006), following pressure from the United States. This evening UK development secretary Hilary Benn announced that a further extension until 3 May had been arranged. Talks have been continuing for nearly two years in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.
If the talks fail once again then the future of the two million people forced from their homes by the conflict in the Sudanese region will be put at risk, say observers.
Already the United Nations World Food Programme has halved rations in Darfur due to lack of funds and money is also running short for many of the aid agencies working in the region. Without the support of the humanitarian community, many lives in the region could be at risk.
On Sunday, thousands of Americans of virtually every age, religion and background gathered together in Washington DC, San Francisco and other cities across the country to rally and urge the Bush administration to take decisive action to bring an end to the killing in Darfur. George Clooney was among the celebrities who gave the rally additional coverage.
At the Washington Rally, Church World Service Executive Director the Rev John L. McCullough declared: “What is happening in Darfur is simply wrong and a moral outrage. The people of Darfur no longer have time for diplomatic courtesies, and we have no patience for partisan politics,”
He added: “Already hundreds of thousands have died, and far too many others are at risk of the unrelenting tide of death that is sweeping across hot desert sands.
“The time for political posturing has expired,” said McCullough, whose organisation is an expression of ecumenical aid cooperation in association with the National Council of Churches USA. “The time for decisive action is now. Hear us when we say, ‘we are America and we are Dafur.’ We have reached the moment of our moral imperative, the intertwining of our lives, and we see our common destiny.”
Meanwhile CAFOD is a leading member of a programme in Darfur which helps around 500,000 people providing food, health care, clean water and sanitation. This year it is expected that the programme will have to make serious cuts in the absence of new funding for Darfur. Unless the peace talks succeed, then it is highly likely that the displaced population will need high levels of support well into 2007.
CAFOD’s Director of International Programmes, Lesley-Anne Knight said: “The one thing that the people of Darfur need above all else is peace. Unless peace is restored to Darfur, people will not be able to return home, they will not be able to support their families and they will continue to be forced to depend on assistance from aid agencies such as CAFOD.
She continued: “With funding to support the humanitarian effort in Darfur dwindling, CAFOD, along with other major aid agencies, now faces the prospect of having to make difficult decisions about where to make cuts in our programme. Although we will try and mitigate the effects of those cuts as much as possible, it is unavoidable that they affect people on the ground who are in desperate need of support.î
Declared Ms Knight: “If peace is not restored and the level of funding available further drops, then CAFOD, together with other major aid agencies, will be forced to consider the future shape of its humanitarian programme. Further lives could be needlessly lost.”
[Also on Ekklesia: Churches and NGOs rally for Darfur as crisis deepens; Churches urge Sudan government to end hostilities; Christian aid partners address UN over Sudan; Catholic aid agency appeals to PM over Sudan; Christian aid agencies unite for Sudan; Archbishop spotlights Sudan suffering in Easter message to churches; Protests as Egypt vows to expel hundreds of Sudanese refugees; Christians arrested during Washington protest over Sudan]