PRESS CONFERENCE BY United Nations humanitarian coordinator for chad

Unless the Darfur crisis was resolved, the instability in the area could affect the whole subregion, resulting in a new humanitarian disaster, Kingsley Amaning, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Chad, warned correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

As a result of the ongoing conflict in Darfur, over 240,000 Sudanese have fled their country to seek refuge in neighbouring Chad, he said.  If there was a success story in connection with Darfur, it related to the fact that humanitarian workers in Chad -– with support from the international community and donors -– had managed to keep them alive.  However, all the progress achieved, so far, had been put at serious risk, as a result of the deteriorating situation in Darfur, the lack of progress in the peace progress, the proliferation of armed groups on both sides of the border, and the deterioration of relations between N'Djamena and Khartoum.

According to the latest figures, there were now some 220,000 Sudanese refugees in 12 established camps in Chad (two thirds of them women and children), along with 30,000 to 40,000 refugees outside of camps.  Also in Chad, there were some 48,000 refugees from the Central African Republic and about 55,000 internally displaced persons.  Operating in a difficult environment, humanitarian workers had reduced the initially high rates of mortality and morbidity among the refugees.  Currently, the quality of life of the refugees was higher than the quality of life of the local population.

However, ongoing hostilities had weakened the administrative structures in the area and had affected the flow of goods to the border areas, he continued.  Hostilities had also created “an environment of militarization” in Chad.  In recent months, there had been threats of attacks, and various armed groups had taken 24 vehicles away from the humanitarian personnel.  What was clear was that “the whole scenario” in Darfur, where armed groups attacked innocent civilians, was now spreading to Chad.  The Government had been reduced to just trying to protect State structures and not the villages.

Asked about the possibility of establishing an international presence in Chad, Mr. Amaning said that, so far, the international community was encountering enormous difficulties in putting together an international peacekeeping force even in Darfur itself.  The Security Council had advocated a subregional approach to the crisis, taking into account the situation in Chad and the Central African Republic.  His feeling was that, if Darfur was secured, no additional measures would be needed to secure the situation in the neighbouring countries.  If the festering crisis in Darfur was resolved, the Governments of the region would be able to control the situation.

To a question about rebels’ efforts to recruit people from refugee camps, he said that the Sudanese groups were trying to recruit the refugees, who, after four years of confinement, were beginning to look “for a durable solution” and became amenable to all sorts of promises and temptations.  Chadian rebel movements were also beginning to be very active around the camps.

Responding to several questions, he said that the real solution to the refugee problem would be to secure the entire area of Darfur and, instead of keeping people in camps, allow them to live normal lives, wherever they chose to go.  For the moment, the refugee camps could be easily infiltrated or even attacked by militias.  The French had clearly said that they were prepared to join in any partnership that would address the problem, but, they did not want to do that alone.

Asked about the situation in Chad, he said that the country’s Government structures were rather weak, and the conditions of life were deteriorating.  There were some 47 armed groups and almost 90 political parties in the country.  The two major groupings of rebels wanted the President to leave office, because they did not accept the changes in the Constitution that had allowed him to have a third term of office.  They also felt that the electoral process had not been transparent and credible.  The Government did not have enough military capacity to secure the refugee camps, and for that reason, it had indicated that it would accept an international presence around the camps.

Emphasizing the importance of the national dialogue in Chad, Mr. Amaning said that he had submitted, to the Government and the opposition, a document, which encouraged them to talk.  While all the parties agreed that dialogue was necessary, the questions remained regarding the framework for such talks.  Several parties believed that armed rebels should be included in the dialogue, but, the Government and others maintained that the dialogue should focus on the political issues, and thus, only those who subscribed to the Constitution should be allowed to take part in the negotiations at the current stage.

Regarding the possible implications of Sudan’s proposal to send 10,000 of its own troops to Darfur, he said that the refugees did not trust any proposals coming from the Sudanese Government, in terms of extending any form of protection to them.  The presence of the Sudanese forces in the area would not necessarily constitute a guarantee of protection for those who had fled the area because of atrocities they said had been committed by the very Government that was offering its protection now.

From the regional point of view, should the Sudanese troops become active in the area?  Some of the rebel forces that had not signed the peace agreement might decide to confront them.  That could lead to a new war, leading to displacement of more Sudanese people.  At the moment, it was important to avoid any measures that could create conflict.

Asked about the efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese refugees, he replied that it was “a pretty expensive operation”.  However, if the international community failed to continue providing such assistance, or even expand it to provide for vocational training, for example, it would be “just maintaining them alive without giving them any future”.

To another question, he said that humanitarian workers deplored the fact that they could easily get resources to keep people alive, but, when conflicts were resolved, the political solution was pursued with development programmes to reintegrate people into the community, provide them with jobs and allow them to earn their own livelihoods.  Without a set development course and with arms easy to acquire, people who knew how to shoot tended to join various armed groups and were difficult to reintegrate.  The solution was to follow humanitarian interventions with development efforts.

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For information media • not an official record