Arab shame in Darfur

The European Commission is extremely concerned about the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis in the Greater Darfur region of Sudan, where a violent conflict has been raging since early 2003.

The ceasefire signed in N'Djamena on April 8 is clearly a welcome development, particularly insofar as it commits the parties to allow fast and unrestricted humanitarian access and to facilitate delivery of humanitarian assistance in accordance with international humanitarian law and principles.

In the meantime the faces of the Sudanese government and the Arab League should redden with shame for their failure to stop the carnage. The Sudanese government has failed to protect its own citizens while the Arab League has simply issued a declaration but has been utterly impotent in stopping the atrocities perpetrated by Arab militias instigated by the Sudanese government.

It is this government which, having instigated the carnage, now obstructs relief agencies in their near-impossible task of bringing aid to these helpless people. It is time the EU and the democracies isolated Sudan by imposing sanctions.

According to information provided by the European Commission, this vast region of eastern Sudan is one of the poorest of the country. It is estimated that thousands of people have died over the past 12 months as a direct or indirect consequence of the conflict.

About two million people - a third of the entire population of the Darfur region - are badly affected. About a million people have been displaced within Sudan and a further 200,000 people have fled across the border into Chad.

Most of these refugees (120,000) are now accommodated in camps away from the border but several tens of thousands remain at the border. Serious violations of human rights have been reported by the UN and human rights organisations, and most specialised agencies and other observers warn that the humanitarian situation can only get worse.

According to the United Nations, needs in most sectors (food, shelter, clean water, primary health care) are only being partially met. Relief organisations have had problems reaching people requiring assistance. Only about 350,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) have started to receive aid.

Lengthy procedures are required to obtain visas and travel permits and a number of humanitarian agencies have been denied access to Darfur. The security situation remains extremely precarious for resident civilians and also aid workers are operating under difficult and at times unsafe conditions.

Access is further confined by poor road infrastructure, the size of the territory affected (roughly equivalent to France), the large number of locations and pockets in which internally displaced persons are located as well as the forthcoming rainy season. Supplies must often be delivered by air. This makes relief operations very expensive.

The EU's information sources further point out that most uprooted people in Darfur have lost all their livestock, seeds, tools and other vital assets due to systematic looting. They are unable to return home in time for the current planting season for security reasons.

Crops, water sources and irrigation channels have been destroyed, which makes return and resettlement difficult if not impossible. Child malnutrition levels are alarming in some areas.

It is possible that a large-scale food crisis will develop, and the situation can only be kept under control through massive general food distribution and other types of nutritional support. The World Food Programme is mounting a massive food aid operation that will eventually cater for the needs of 1.2 million people, assuming access is granted.