UN Secretary General Visits Sudan

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is currently touring Sudan in an effort to bolster peace talks in the western Darfur region.  Ban began his visit by flying to the southern capital of Juba where 10,000 UN peacekeepers are struggling to maintain the peace.  While there, he met with former rebel leader and First Vice President Salva Kir to discuss peace. 

John Garang, Kir’s predecessor who died in a helicopter crash in July 2005, signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) several months before he died.  The CPA ended 21 years of civil war between the Muslim north and Christian and animist south.  Although that war and peace agreement are not related to the violence and conflict in Darfur, it is being held up as an example for resolving the current crisis.

Ban is pushing for peace negotiations alongside the already-approved peacekeeping operation of a joint UN-AU force.   In a speech made on Tuesday in Juba, he announced that details were being worked out for discussions between Khartoum and rebel groups who did not sign the May 2006 peace agreement. 

Ban has made this conflict his top priority since he took office in January.  He is working to ensure that the 26,000 UN-AU force will be deployed as soon as possible.  The force was agreed to on July 31 but is not expected to be deployed until mid-2008.  In his speech to a university in Juba, Ban stated that “[f]or too long the international community has stood by, as seemingly helpless witnesses.  That is now changing.” Ban also made a speech to the United Nations Association, the text of which can be found here.

Ban told journalists that he had met with President Omar al-Beshir and had obtained his “commitment and readiness” to clear the way for the peacekeepers.  Ban also announced that Beshir promised to allow key rebel leader Suleiman Jamous to leave Sudan to seek medical attention. (For more information on Jamous, see previous Impunity Watch report - Key Rebel Groups Fail to Join Peace Talks - 18 August 2007).

The UN estimates that at least 200,000 people have died in Darfur since the uprising began in 2003.  A further 2.5 million people have been displaced from their homes.  The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor recently called on the UN to pressure Sudan to bring to justice two suspects wanted in regards to atrocities committed in Darfur. 

For more information, please see:

New York Times - UN Chief Tries to Bolster Peace Accord in Sudan - 5 September 2007

AFP – Ban in south Sudan to shore up on peace deal - 4 September 2007

AFP – UN chief in Darfur peace push - 5 September 2007

Voice of America News – UN Secretary General Says Political Talks Crucial to End Darfur War - 5 September 2007

Al Jazeera News – UN chief on peace mission to Darfur - 5 September 2007

International Herald Tribune – Peace deal in southern Sudan leaves students with big dreams - 4 September 2007