PRESS BRIEFING ON SUDAN BY UNICEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING ON SUDAN BY UNICEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

A three-month ceasefire in southern Sudan was not long enough to end the crisis in that area, the Executive Director of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Carol Bellamy, said this afternoon at a Headquarters press briefing.

Stating that she had never seen people in such extreme conditions, Ms. Bellamy said that north and south, it was the worst humanitarian crisis the Sudan had faced in the last 10 years. The agency, as party of Operation Lifeline Sudan, would accelerate its efforts, but ultimately political pressure had to be brought to bear to resolve the crisis.

During her recent visit to that country she had cautioned representatives of the Government and the rebel movement that while the ceasefire presented an opportunity to save lives, the situation was not a short-term crisis and could not be cleaned up in three months. She had urged that the time-frame be extended and that the cease-fire be seen as a first step towards a long-term peace. Moreover, the geographic area of the ceasefire was too limited. She noted that the harvest, which had not been adequate in the past, was not good this year, and she foresaw crisis conditions for the coming year.

She had also stressed that the Government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement must be accountable for the irregular forces that operated in their areas.

Calling attention to the three corridors designated to bring the necessary food and medicine to the needy -- barge, road and rail -- she said that each had its difficulties. Some parts of the waterways had not been dredged in several years; roads were by no means paved highway, the rainy season was about to begin and there was the question about existing rails and availability of parts for the railroad.

With the Government she had pointed out that humanitarian workers had not been able to have communication equipment in their vehicles. Several humanitarian workers attempting to take food into the mountains had met horrible deaths. Their lives could have been saved if they had had communication equipment.

She said she had visited the government-held towns of Wau and Panthou in the rebel-controlled area. In both places she had seen people in the worst condition she had ever seen. Mostly women and children, many had been displaced and their traditional coping mechanisms had been disrupted. The traditional chief system had been impaired -- it was reduced to those who had guns had power.

In meeting the current crisis, she said, the World Food Programme (WFP) was in the midst of the largest air drop in its history. The UNICEF, in

UNICEF Briefing - 2 - 27 July 1998

addition to being the lead agency in the south, also focused on therapeutic and supplementary feeding. Some of the people were on the brink of death and were too sick to eat. Malnutrition rates were close to 70 per cent and affected largely women and children. In the next few months the number of feeding areas would double from 24 to 28 and UNICEF would take direct responsibility for 10 of those centres.

The UNICEF was also involved in the effort to kick off a major immunization campaign. A major outbreak of something like measles would be devastating.

In response to a question, said she rejected the idea that providing food and humanitarian assistance made people healthy and thus prolonged the war. The war would end when the political will for it to end was there.

She added that a system to avoid the diversion of food had to be created. In fact, however, there had been no large-scale diversions. In the south, there had not been specific information about significant looting of foodstuff in the recent past. A working group consisting of UNICEF, WFP, non- governmental organizations and a representative of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement was working towards putting in place a mechanism to stop food diversion.

Another correspondent said there had been criticism that the United Nations had been late in responding to the situation in the Sudan, that it had been unable to coordinate efforts, that it had been very conciliatory towards the Government and that there was corruption. Ms. Bellamy said the general working arrangement that had been agreed upon a long time ago did not lend itself to the best operation. The rules of engagement required obtaining approval to get into the areas, and the Government had not granted access in January and February. When access was finally granted in March, Operation Lifeline Sudan had not been able to go into full operation on the first day.

Realistically, she said, the appeal for funds had not been fully subscribed. Now, since the pictures had hit the headlines, there had been greater response from donors. The operation was expensive, and the agencies were looking at ways to reduce cost. They must try to keep looking for ways to make the operation more efficient.

She took the charge of corruption very seriously, she said. When the Liberation Movement had brought up the issue of corruption, she had asked for names and times and further corroborating information, but they replied that they did not have anything to give her at that point. She had not been shown anything to back up the claim of corruption.

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