Fuente : German Federal Gouvernment
http://www.bundesregierung.de/

Providing aid to refugees in Sudan

/noticias.info/ - German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul has proposed using the options available under the EU's recently approved African Peace Facility to help people who have become victims of violence in Sudan.


In a cabinet meeting on May 5 the German government supported the proposal and indicated it would like to act quickly, saying a ceasefire needs to be imposed in order to prevent further mass expulsions, murders, and rapes. The rainy season is due to start in a few weeks and it will then no longer be possible to get humanitarian aid in to the people who need it.


What is the African Peace Facility?

The Peace Facility is based on the principle of Africa's responsibility for itself in the area of peace and security. It is to be used to support African-led peacekeeping measures and to expand the security structures being developed by the African Union.
The Peace Facility is also based on the principle of solidarity. The African countries approved a decision to allocate 1.5 percent of the funds provided to them in the framework of the Ninth European Development Fund for use by the Peace Facility and in doing so are making a significant contribution towards the financing of this new security structure.

During his recent visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Chancellor Schröder noted: "In the European Union we have approved the creation of a Peace Facility for Africa which will make it possible to help finance future peacekeeping operations undertaken by the African Union in the United Nations framework."


German aid for Sudan

The German government wants to provide aid for the refugees in Sudan and help prevent a further humanitarian disaster. Thus far it has provided around 3 million euros for relief measures in the Darfur region


Ceasefire needed

It is absolutely necessary that a ceasefire be observed so that humanitarian aid can be gotten in to the people who need it. The ceasefire could be monitored by an independent commission currently being planned by the African Union and consideration could be given to the option of sending peacekeeping troops into the region.


Background: At the present time somewhere between 750,000 and 800,000 people have been made homeless inside of Sudan and approximately 100,000 have fled into neighboring Chad. UN observers have confirmed human rights violations against the civilian population in the region, saying that people are being driven out of their villages, murdered, and raped on a large scale. A ceasefire was negotiated for April and May but has not yet been observed.


There are two main conflicts in Sudan:

between the north and the south

Internationally supported peace talks have been going on for some time now and are approaching completion. Parallel to this, plans are being made at UN headquarters in New York for a possible mission to monitor the situation in Sudan after a final settlement is reached between the north and the south.

in the Darfur region

Darfur is a region that borders on Chad. For about a year now internal displacements have been caused by attacks on the black Sudanese population living there. An estimated one million people have been made refugees in an area approximately the size of Germany and many of them have fled across the border into Chad.

06/05/2004 notas_de_prensa_archivo