Following her four-day visit to Sudan, United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator is determined \u201cnot to let Darfur slip off the radar screen of the international community\u201d.<\/p>\n
During her visit from Monday to Thursday this week, Baroness Valerie Amos met with President Omar Al Bashir and senior Government officials in Khartoum and Darfur, as well as UN agencies, NGOs and humanitarian organisations. On Wednesday, she visited Zamzam camp for displaced people in North Darfur.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe purpose of my visit to Sudan was twofold,\u201d Baroness Amos explained in a statement on Thursday; \u201cfirst, to look at humanitarian operations in the country; and second \u2013 given the sometimes difficult relations between the Government of Sudan and the United Nations on humanitarian issues \u2013 to work to build trust and confidence so that we are in a stronger position to help meet the humanitarian needs of people in Sudan.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince my arrival, I have had a chance to see first-hand the humanitarian situation in Darfur,\u201d she said. \u201cI was particularly shocked when we visited some of the new arrivals in (Zamzam) camp. I saw people who had recently fled fighting in South Darfur sheltering under small pieces of tarpaulin in the hot desert sun, in desperate conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAid agencies struggling to cope\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Amos highlighted the UN estimate that 300,000 people fled fighting in Darfur during the first five months of this year \u2013 more than the total number of people displaced in the last two years put together. This is an extremely worrying situation and it is clear that humanitarian aid agencies are struggling to cope, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot let Darfur slip off the radar screen of the international community. With 1.4 million people still living in camps, and a majority of the people in Darfur still suffering from inadequate access to basic health care, education and other services, the challenges remain enormous.<\/p>\n \u201cHundreds of thousands of children all over Darfur were born in camps and have never known life outside these camps. We cannot forget these children. They are the future of Darfur and of Sudan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRebel movements responsible for similar crimes\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe UN and the international community have in the past condemned the Government of Sudan when there have been reports of armed attacks targeting or affecting civilians, as we do everywhere else in the world,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, it is important to note that rebel movements in Sudan are also responsible for similar crimes. I was shocked to hear detailed reports of the recent attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure by the Sudan Revolutionary Front in Northern Kordofan and parts of South Kordofan. I condemn these attacks on civilians in the strongest terms.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOnce again it is the civilians who are paying the biggest price in this war,\u201d Amos concludes. \u201cI call on the parties to stop the fighting and to resolve their disputes by peaceful means. And above all, I call on the parties to protect civilians and to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.\u201d<\/p>\n Photo: Valerie Amos during her visit to Darfur (OCHA -cropped)<\/em><\/p>\n Related<\/em>: UN official promises to deliver Darfur displaced memo to Ban Ki-moon<\/a> (22 May 2013)<\/p>\n