The Darfur Regional Authority\u2019s (DRA) Commission for Voluntary Return and Resettlement has started with the verification of details concerning the displaced in the region. The DRA Legislative Council requested the establishment of a Darfur reconstruction and development fund, while the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan reported on Monday that the cumulative figure of civilian displacement since January 2014 stands at 385,600 people.<\/p>\n
The DRA Commissioner for Voluntary Return, Azhari Shata, in a statement issued in El Fasher on Tuesday, announced that the Commission has started its verification procedures of the displaced in Darfur. \u201cIn cooperation with the authorities of the Darfur Civil Registry, a workshop for the staff working on the project will be convened soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stated that the number of Darfur displaced targeted in the first phase of repatriation amounts to 150,000 people. \u201cThe costs are estimated at SDG1,500,000 ($261,500).\u201d <\/p>\n
The Commission will also \u201cdo a full scan to assess the humanitarian and security situation in 42 villages recently attacked in El Salam, Bielel, and Niteaga localities in South Darfur\u201d. \u201cBesides, a committee has been formed to assess the conflict-affected localities of Mellit, Kutum, Alliet, and El Taweisha in North Darfur.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shata added that practical steps have been taken for the implementation of the project. \u201cPriority is given to the inventory of damage and losses caused to the people of Darfur by the armed conflicts, as well as to the training of the Commission\u2019s personnel and the displaced and the refugees on matters relating to compensation and restitution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are working to increase the staff of the Community Police. The Commission has already been authorised to accommodate 815 young Darfuris in the Community Police, in order to secure the villages of voluntary return.\u201d<\/p>\n
Legislative Council <\/strong><\/p>\n In response on the Commission\u2019s statement, members of the DRA Legislative Council requested the establishment of a Darfur reconstruction and development fund, \u201cto adopt vital projects that will transfer the citizens from the cycle of poverty to the circle of production\u201d.<\/p>\n The DRA Council members emphasised the need for the establishment of a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) mechanism. \u201cPartners are to be attracted for the implementation of development projects, based on the amount of ten million dollars that the Qatari government deposited at the UNDP for these aims.\u201d<\/p>\n They pointed to the importance of setting up a fund for \u201cstrategic services projects\u201d, and called upon the DRA to remind the international community of its obligations to enforce the 2011 Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, \u201cin particular concerning microfinance projects\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThis should all be implemented within a limited period of time,\u201d the MPs noted, \u201cin order to serve the people of Darfur, who have been suffering long enough.\u201d<\/p>\n They also stated that companies who delayed the construction of the highway connecting Darfur with Khartoum are to be held accountable, \u201cas well as those that have supplied corrupted food and defective commodities to the people in Darfur\u201d.<\/p>\n Newly displaced in Darfur<\/strong><\/p>\n OCHA in Sudan, in collaboration with humanitarian partners, on Monday released a situation update on new displacements in Darfur this year.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are currently about 258,600 newly displaced people since January 2014,\u201d OCHA reported. \u201cThe cumulative figure of civilian displacement since the beginning of the year is much larger, and stands at some 385,600 people. This cumulative number includes close to 127,000 returns.\u201d<\/p>\n Map: Part of the OCHA map of recent displacements in Darfur, 23 June 2014<\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n Related: <\/em>\u2018DRA chairman misleads public opinion\u2019: Darfur displaced<\/a> (18 June 2014)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n