Aid agencies seek an end to tragic Darfur violence
-20/07/06
A group of eight leading
Aid agencies seek an end to tragic Darfur violence
-20/07/06
A group of eight leading aid agencies – CARE International, the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, International Rescue Committee, Islamic Relief, Oxfam International and Tearfund – have joined forces to call for urgent action to end the continued violence and suffering in Darfur, Sudan.
“While an enormous amount of energy is being spent debating what will happen in six months time, no one seems to have noticed that people are still being killed today,” says Denis Caillaux, secretary general of CARE International, in a statement released on 19 July 2006.
He continued: “Many countries have still not given enough money to support the [peacekeepers] already on the ground. This lack of funding means patrols in and around camps are impossible or have been scaled back and we are seeing people attacked, killed or raped as a result.”
The eight agencies have warned that the security situation on the ground continues to deteriorate despite the recent peace agreement.
This peace agreement, the agencies said, gave the African Union Force more responsibilities requiring more resources, despite the fact that it was already chronically under-funded and failing to protect civilians.
“The African Union force is being set up to fail. It simply cannot be expected to fulfill its mandate without proper support. The current scenario is a recipe for disaster. Donor governments must now put their hands in their pockets and fully fund the African Union force,” commented director of Oxfam Barbara Stocking.
Meanwhile, Alun McDonald of Oxfam, who is based in Sudan, said that the amounts pledged at a recent Brussels conference to back the new United Nations peacekeeping force (AMIS) have fallen well short of expectations.
The total amount of money pledged by donors as of this week was around 215 million US dollars: 116 million dollars from the United States; 36 million dollars from Britain; 31.2 million dollars from the European Union (plus an extra 50 million dollars for humanitarian work); 25-30 million dollars from the Netherlands; 2.5 million dollars from France; and 1.0 million dollars from Belgium.
The sums pledged are “only enough to sustain AMIS until the end of September [2006], even though it is supposed to be here until the end of December. This is basically about half of what we (and the African Union) were asking for,” declared Mr McDonald.
According to published figures, nearly 200,000 have died in the fighting in Darfur, with about two million displaced in camps in Darfur and neighbouring Chad.
[Also on Ekklesia: Darfur development workers kidnapped as situation worsens; Churches urge Sudan government to end hostilities; Global appeal to churches on fragile Sudan peace process; Christian aid partners address UN over Sudan; Catholic aid agency appeals to PM over Sudan; Protests as Egypt vows to expel hundreds of Sudanese refugees; Christian aid agencies unite for Sudan; Christians arrested during Washington protest over Sudan]
Aid agencies seek an end to tragic Darfur violence
-20/07/06
A group of eight leading aid agencies – CARE International, the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, International Rescue Committee, Islamic Relief, Oxfam International and Tearfund – have joined forces to call for urgent action to end the continued violence and suffering in Darfur, Sudan.
“While an enormous amount of energy is being spent debating what will happen in six months time, no one seems to have noticed that people are still being killed today,” says Denis Caillaux, secretary general of CARE International, in a statement released on 19 July 2006.
He continued: “Many countries have still not given enough money to support the [peacekeepers] already on the ground. This lack of funding means patrols in and around camps are impossible or have been scaled back and we are seeing people attacked, killed or raped as a result.”
The eight agencies have warned that the security situation on the ground continues to deteriorate despite the recent peace agreement.
This peace agreement, the agencies said, gave the African Union Force more responsibilities requiring more resources, despite the fact that it was already chronically under-funded and failing to protect civilians.
“The African Union force is being set up to fail. It simply cannot be expected to fulfill its mandate without proper support. The current scenario is a recipe for disaster. Donor governments must now put their hands in their pockets and fully fund the African Union force,” commented director of Oxfam Barbara Stocking.
Meanwhile, Alun McDonald of Oxfam, who is based in Sudan, said that the amounts pledged at a recent Brussels conference to back the new United Nations peacekeeping force (AMIS) have fallen well short of expectations.
The total amount of money pledged by donors as of this week was around 215 million US dollars: 116 million dollars from the United States; 36 million dollars from Britain; 31.2 million dollars from the European Union (plus an extra 50 million dollars for humanitarian work); 25-30 million dollars from the Netherlands; 2.5 million dollars from France; and 1.0 million dollars from Belgium.
The sums pledged are “only enough to sustain AMIS until the end of September [2006], even though it is supposed to be here until the end of December. This is basically about half of what we (and the African Union) were asking for,” declared Mr McDonald.
According to published figures, nearly 200,000 have died in the fighting in Darfur, with about two million displaced in camps in Darfur and neighbouring Chad.
[Also on Ekklesia: Darfur development workers kidnapped as situation worsens; Churches urge Sudan government to end hostilities; Global appeal to churches on fragile Sudan peace process; Christian aid partners address UN over Sudan; Catholic aid agency appeals to PM over Sudan; Protests as Egypt vows to expel hundreds of Sudanese refugees; Christian aid agencies unite for Sudan; Christians arrested during Washington protest over Sudan]