LWF Welcomes Special Session of Human Rights Council on Situation in Darfur
Deep Concern on Slow Implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement
GENEVA, 13 December 2006 (LWI) – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) welcomed the calling of the Special Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Human Rights Situation in Darfur, particularly saluting the “broad cross-regional support the calling of this Special Session has received.” This was stated in a written declaration of the LWF Office for International Affairs and Human Rights, submitted on Wednesday, 13 December to the United Nations Human Rights Council. The session convened in Geneva from 12 to 13 December. The statement expressed the LWF’s approval for this support. The support “demonstrates the mounting international concern for the tragic and deteriorating situation in Darfur.”
The statement expressed the concern of the LWF and its partners on “the slow implementation” of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA), “the inadequate efforts to broaden its support base,” and “the failure to secure new parties to the Agreement.” It added that the “implementation of the DPA must be seen as an essential basis for improving the humanitarian and human rights situation on the ground. A much greater commitment to consultation and inclusiveness will be required in order to achieve improved support and implementation.”
It was also emphasized that the “international community must make stronger efforts to bring together the non-signatories and assist them to find a unified position.” For the process to be effective, however, “the outstanding issues of compensation, disarmament and political representation” would have to be addressed.
The LWF, furthermore, supported “the urgent dispatch of an impartial, independent, professional and expert human rights mission to Darfur to assess the human rights situation.” This was in fact “mandated by other recent Special Sessions of the Council.” The mission was to report back to the Human Rights Council without delay.
The statement also welcomed the cooperation between the government of Sudan and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan. The LWF called upon the government of Sudan “to intensify its cooperation with the Special Rapporteur and with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.”
All of the parties, including non-signatories and signatories to the DPA, were required to recommit themselves to the N’Djamena ceasefire. As it was phrased in the statement, insecurity is the critical issue affecting the lives of the Darfurian people, “and without the curtailment of violence, displaced people will not return to their homes.” It was in fact the government of Sudan that had “the responsibility to protect all the people of Sudan and ensure their safety.”
The LWF criticized the government of Sudan for “failing to provide humanitarian agencies with the support it has agreed upon,” and for “failing to provide access to the areas where people are in need.” The statement emphasized the importance that “all humanitarian agencies have access to those people who are in need,” and that “humanitarian organizations should be enabled and assisted to have free access and freedom of movement.”
The LWF called upon on the government of Sudan “to respect the Memorandum of Understanding it signed with the UN where these principles were laid down and agreed upon.” The LWF is, moreover, “deeply concerned by reports of obstruction and harassment of humanitarian workers and agencies, preventing them from providing relief and humanitarian assistance and operating effectively in Darfur.”
The written statement submitted by the LWF can be downloaded as a PDF version on the LWF Web site.
