BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES SUDANESE ACCEPTANCE OF UN HELP TO AFRICAN MISSION IN DARFUR

BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES SUDANESE ACCEPTANCE OF UN HELP TO AFRICAN MISSION IN DARFUR
New York, Apr 16 2007 7:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed Sudan's announcement confirming that it accepts the entire "heavy support package" of troops, police officers, civilian staff and equipment which the United Nations will provide to the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in the violence-wracked Darfur region.

Mr. Ban "is encouraged by this development and intends to move expeditiously with the deployment," according to a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm10945.doc.htm">statement issued by his spokesperson in New York after the Secretary-General received a letter from the Sudanese Government confirming its agreement.

The statement said Mr. Ban will work closely with the AU and the Government to implement the deployment, which is the second phase of a three-step plan that is supposed to culminate in a hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force of approximately 17,000 troops and 3,000 police officers across Darfur.

He expects Sudan "to urgently provide the land and other facilities necessary for the deployment of the heavy support package, including permission to explore for water and meet all operational requirements," the statement added.

Aside from the troops, police officers and civilian staff, the heavy support package includes the provision by the UN of helicopter gunships as well as logistical support to the overstretched AU mission, known as AMIS.

Mr. Ban's spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters, in response to a question, that the helicopters had been the outstanding component in the heavy support package until today's acceptance letter.

In the statement Mr. Ban called on donors and States providing troops or police to contribute generously and as soon as possible, emphasizing that the UN will also intensify its efforts to implement recent agreements designed to make the political process in Darfur more inclusive.

Today he held talks with AU Chairman Alpha Oumar Konaré on the latest political, humanitarian and security developments in Darfur before they jointly met Security Council members for informal discussions.

Speaking to reporters after that meeting, Mr. Ban thanked the efforts of many world leaders, including the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United States, China and South Africa, as well as Mr. Konaré and the head of the League of Arab States.

"This is a very positive sign," he said of the Sudanese acceptance letter. "The people in Darfur have suffered too much and too long."

More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2 million others displaced from their homes in the vast region in western Sudan since 2003, when Government forces and allied Janjaweed militias began fighting with rebel groups who had taken up arms, largely in protest at the distribution of resources.

The clashes have led to the destruction of entire villages, and fears are increasing that the conflict might also engulf neighbouring eastern Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR).

The UN is already providing a "light support package" to AMIS which includes police advisers, civilian staff, technical support and other resources.
2007-04-16 00:00:00.000

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