UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that land problems are delaying the roll-out of the UN-AU peacekeeping operation in Darfur, Sudan.
In his latest progress report on the mission, which is known as UNAMID, Ban said the timeline for implementing the operation is being delayed because of difficulties in obtaining land to house the mission offices and staff accommodations and problems relating to the list of troop-contributing countries.
He noted that the United Nations is waiting for feedback from the Sudanese government on the list of troop-contributing countries.
"It is of critical importance that the government extend the support and cooperation necessary to resolve the issues pertaining to land, landing rights for UN aircraft and the finalization of the list of troop-contributing countries for UNAMID," Ban said.
Ban also expressed concern over the continuing violence across Darfur, particularly the recent spike in attacks, which he warns "is not contributing to an atmosphere conducive to the peace talks" in Libya.
He voiced concern over the fragmentation of the rebel groups and their lack of unity ahead of the Libya talks, adding that it is paramount that all parties enter the negotiation process well prepared and seriously committed to trying to reach a final settlement to the conflict as soon as possible.
"The United Nations and the African Union have labored hard on the peacekeeping, cease-fire and political tracks to give concrete expression to the will and strategy agreed on by the international community in Addis Ababa in November 2006," the UN chief said.
However, he pointed out that if these processes are to succeed, it is essential for all actors, including the government of the Sudan, the rebel movements, neighboring countries, regional organizations, troop and police contributors and the state members of the United Nations, to translate words into deeds.
For UNAMID to deploy and be effective, for a cease-fire to take place and hold, and for the political negotiations to begin and bear fruit, all must play their respective parts, Ban said.
The Security Council authorized the creation of UNAMID earlier this year to try to quell the violence in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and at least 2.2 million others forced to flee their homes since 2003 because of fighting between rebels, government forces and allied Janjaweed militia.
Later this month, the United Nations and African Union are co-convening peace negotiations in neighboring Libya between the Sudanese government and the rebels to try to reach a political solution to the conflict.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article