By kanwal tariq hameed
HUMAN rights activists in Bahrain have launched appeals calling for the immediate deployment of United Nations (UN) troops in the violence-stricken region of Darfur, Sudan, where an estimated 200,000 people have died and more than two million been displaced.
Reports of indiscriminate attacks, as well as the rape and slaughter of civilian women and children, have been issued by human rights workers in Darfur, despite the deployment of 7,000 African Union peacekeeping troops.
A Darfur Peace Agreement was signed on May 5 this year between the Sudanese government and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) – one of the three main rebel factions.
By kanwal tariq hameed
HUMAN rights activists in Bahrain have launched appeals calling for the immediate deployment of United Nations (UN) troops in the violence-stricken region of Darfur, Sudan, where an estimated 200,000 people have died and more than two million been displaced.
Reports of indiscriminate attacks, as well as the rape and slaughter of civilian women and children, have been issued by human rights workers in Darfur, despite the deployment of 7,000 African Union peacekeeping troops.
A Darfur Peace Agreement was signed on May 5 this year between the Sudanese government and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) – one of the three main rebel factions.
A UN Security Council resolution passed on August 31 calls for 17,000 UN troops to replace the African Union troops if given consent by the Sudanese government, which it has refused to accept.
Activists and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) worldwide marked a global day for Darfur on Sunday.
Amnesty International (AI) Bahrain held an event for students at the Regional Institute for Active Learning (RIA), in Adliya.
AI Bahrain representatives spoke with children and staff about the current situation in Darfur and joined together to issue a message for peace and the protection of Darfur’s civilians.
“Crimes against civilians are on the increase while peace signatories are leading the attacks,” co-ordinator Nasser Burdestani said.
“The killings in North Darfur highlight the powerlessness of the 7,000 strong African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur (African Union Mission in Sudan).
“Due to its failure to protect civilians in Darfur, the African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur has lost the faith of many of the people in Darfur.
“Amnesty International is urging the Sudanese government to accept the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur that is properly resourced and with a robust mandate to protect civilians.
“But it is also urging the international community to ensure that there is no break in peacekeeping.”
More than 17,000 people across the world have signed the online AI petition for Darfur, Mr Burdestani added.
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) and the Bahrain youth Society for Human Rights (BCHR) joined with NGOs from across the region to call for an end of the “security disorder” in the region.
The petition, which has been signed by more than 30 NGOs in 10 Arab countries, also calls for justice and equity to be brought about for the victims of human rights violations in Darfur.
The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Bahrain also issued a statement by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, in which he condemns the escalation of clashes in Sudan and calls on its government to accept the deployment of UN peacekeeping troops.
“There is no hidden agenda, no other ambitions, only to help,” Mr Annan says in the statement.
“I urge everyone to join their voices to mine in asking the Government of Sudan to embrace the spirit of the Security Council’s resolution, to give its consent to the transition and to pursue the political process with new energy and commitment.
“There can be no military solution to the crisis in Darfur.
“All parties should have understood by now, after so much death and destruction, that only a political agreement, in which all stakeholders are fully engaged, can bring real peace to the region.
“Twelve years ago the United Nations, and the world, failed the people of Rwanda in their time of need.
“Can we now, in all conscience, stand by and watch as the tragedy deepens in Darfur?”
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=156267&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=29184
