Under-Secretary-general ENCOURAGED BY PROGRESS

ON CEASEFIRE NEGOTIATIONS FOR DARFUR, SUDAN

NEW YORK, 8 April (Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs) -- “I am encouraged by the positive signals that a humanitarian ceasefire may soon be signed by parties to the conflict in Darfur, Sudan”, said United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland.

Humanitarian ceasefire talks were convened under the leadership of Chadian President Idriss Deby in N’Djamena, Chad, earlier this week.  The Government of the Sudan, the Justice and Equality Movement, and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army are participating in the talks.

Mr. Egeland reported to the United Nations Security Council last week that a coordinated scorched-earth campaign of ethnic cleansing was taking place in Darfur.  Field staff from United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have received credible reports almost daily about widespread atrocities, grave violations of human rights, and forced depopulation of entire areas.  The targets of the campaign are the region's black African population, especially the Fur, Zaghawas and Massalit ethnic communities.

United Nations agencies estimate that some 750,000 Sudanese have become internally displaced in Darfur since fighting erupted early last year between the Sudanese Government, allied militias and rebel groups.  Another 110,000 people have fled into neighbouring Chad.

Largely confined to the provincial capitals of Darfur because of the security situation, United Nations agencies and NGOs have been able to help only about one third of those in need.

Attacks against civilians have forced internally displaced persons to congregate in larger and more urban areas, which increase the risk of disease outbreaks.  Scarce sources of water around which the internally displaced congregate are dwindling rapidly.

On 6 April, a United Nations fact-finding mission on the human rights situation in Sudan’s Darfur region began its work as United Nations staff in the country reported that conditions in the war-scarred region were deteriorating.

The mission started in neighbouring Chad, where tens of thousands of Sudanese have fled over the past year to escape the violence.  The team is interviewing Sudanese refugees taking shelter there before travelling to Darfur itself to assess the situation.

Today, the United Nations is finalizing a revised humanitarian appeal for Darfur.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, OCHA New York, tel. (917) 367-5126, mobile: (917) 892-1679; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, tel. 41 22 917 2653, mobile: 41(0) 79 473 4570.

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