1 Introduction
1. In the months since our report, much has happened
in Darfur and Sudan. The UN Security Council passed a series of
resolutions intended to bring pressure to bear on the Government
of Sudan. These included the referral of the situation in Darfur
to the International Criminal Court, an extension of the arms
embargo to cover the Government of Sudan, and the establishment
of a sanctions committee.
2. In Sudan itself, implementation of the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Government of Sudan and the
Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLM)[3]
has made faltering progress. A major setback was the death of
the SPLM leader, John Garang, in a helicopter crash, only a few
weeks after he had become First Vice-President of Sudan. In Abuja,
Nigeria, desperately slow progress was made in the Darfur peace
talks between the GoS and the rebels, although a "declaration
of principles" was agreed on 5th July. In Darfur, the AU
has made reasonable progress in deploying more troops who, with
limited resources and a restricted mandate, continue to shoulder
the responsibilities of the international community to protect
the people of Darfur.
3. September and October witnessed a deterioration
in the security situation across Darfur. According to the UN Secretary
General's October report "The frequency and intensity of
violence reached levels unseen since January 2005"[4].
The report makes specific mention of sexual violence against
under 18 year olds. Insecurity in West Darfur has led the UN to
pull its staff out of the area. This has had a pronounced effect
on the delivery of humanitarian aid. 3.4 million people (half
the population of the Darfur region) are conflict-affected. There
are still 1.8 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The
breakdown in security is due to a number of factors, including
the factional fighting within the rebel movement and increased
attacks on civilians by Sudanese armed forces, Arab militias,
and increasingly by the rebel groups, as well as a dramatic increase
in banditry along main transit routes.
3 9 January 2005 Back
4
UNSC, Monthly report of the Secretary-General on Darfur, 14 October
2005 Back
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