Sudan, Libya: Darfur Peace Talks Continue

Peace talks on the conflict in western Sudan's Darfur region continued on Monday in the Libyan city of Sirte, while some of the parties involved refused to attend them. Meanwhile, a high-ranking U.N. official met with Sudan's President, and other officials spoke regarding the humanitarian conditions in Darfur.

According to a press release issued by the United Nations on Monday, Special Envoys from the U.N. and African Union spoke with representatives of different Sudanese factions on Monday. They included representatives of Sudan's government, Darfur rebel groups, and others. However, some of the groups involved in the conflict refuse to attend the peace talks. Power and wealth sharing, as well as security, were discussed at the talks.

The United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs spoke about the humanitarian and refugee situation in Darfur. He expressed alarm at forced relocations which were reported in southern Darfur on Sunday night, saying that government police and military forces were forcing refugees to move to a different part of the country and threatening them with various weapons. He also pointed out that U.N. and A.U. personnel were denied access to the refugees while they were being relocated. Additionally, the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Sudan spoke to a U.N. General Assembly committee, saying that all parties are committing many types of serious human rights abuses in Darfur.

Also on Monday, the U.N. Secretary General's Special Representative For Sudan met with the Sudanese President. They discussed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (involving the past civil war between northern and southern Sudan), dialogue between the U.N. and the Sudanese government, and the Special Representative's intention to meet the President of the Southern Sudan govt.

The above-mentioned press release indicates that fighting in the Darfur region has caused the deaths of more than two-hundred thousand people since the year 2003, and displaced a minimum of 2,200,000 people. According to a report issued by the human rights organization Amnesty International on Sudan earlier this year, the Janjawid militia group killed hundreds of civilians and forced many others from their homes in cross-border attacks within neighboring Chad in October, without intervention from the Sudanese government. The police were said to have done very little in response to their abuses. The report accused groups opposed to the government of torturing and killing civilians while targeting humanitarian aid workers, and it detailed human rights violations committed by the government, military, and other armed groups throughout various regions of Sudan.

Sources:

1. United Nations, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24462
2. Amnesty International, http://www.amnestyusa.org/annualreport.php?id=ar&yr=2007&c=SDN