Save Darfur Newsletter
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Weekly News and Action Update - March 31, 2006
This week in Sudan:
Recent weeks have seen several promising developments in Washington and at the UN, although sadly the realities on the ground in Darfur remain dire. On March 16, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment offered by Rep. Mike Capuano to the Fiscal Year 2006 supplemental appropriations bill which provided an additional $50 million dollars for Darfur peacekeeping. The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to consider a similar amendment next Tuesday, April 4. The funds would be used to immediately improve the African Union peacekeeping force already on the ground in Darfur, bringing them up to UN standards for inclusion in the eventual UN force, and saving lives in the meantime.
The 25-member European Union this week announced that it would also provide additional near-term funding for the African Union. The EU has approved a contribution of 50 million euros ($60 million), which will likely be presented at the International Pledging Conference in late April or May.
Darfur was a topic of discussion as well at the Arab League summit which took place in Khartoum this week. The summit, which normally spans two days, was shortened to one due to the fact that nearly half of Arab nations decided to boycott the meeting due to its taking place in Sudan. Among those who declined to attend are Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi Arabia King Abdullah. Not surprisingly, those who did attend issued a statement opposing a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur at the behest of Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir. The League did announce that it would likely provide financial aid to the African Union Mission in Sudan, but not until October 1, the day after the African Union’s mandate expires. The African Union is currently expected to transition to a stronger UN force after its mandate expires.
Another important development occurred in the UN Security Council, which on Friday March 24 passed a resolution calling upon the Secretary-General to speed up the planning process for a transition to a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur. The Council also requested the Secretariat to formally present those plans by April 24, and that the plans include options on how the UN could provide additional assistance to the African Union force until such time as the transition can be completed.
At the White House, President Bush met with President Obasanjo of Nigeria and discussed current situation in Darfur and the possibility of a transition from the AU to a stronger UN force in the near term. Darfur was in the news elsewhere in America as well, on editorial pages, at Brian Steidle’s speaking tour events, and through community-based initiatives such as the Save Darfur Coalition’s launch of the Week of Prayer and Action, and former Sudanese slave Simon Deng’s 300-Mile Walk to end Darfur’s Conflict.
The weeks most somber news was once again in Darfur, where reports from humanitarian aid organizations continue to warn of deteriorating conditions of the refugees in Internally Displaced Person’s camps, and of increasing fighting along the Sudan/Chad border.
For additional information on any of these stories, please click the links embedded in the above paragraphs. In addition, a complete list of articles on Darfur is on our website, updated daily. http://savedarfur.org/go.php?q=latestNews.html
Contact information:
- To subscribe, enter your email address under "get email updates" at www.SaveDarfur.org.
- To unsubsribe, please reply with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
- For other correspondence, please write to info@savedarfur.org.
- Please visit us at www.SaveDarfur.org.
Weekly News and Action Update - March 31, 2006
This week in Sudan:
Recent weeks have seen several promising developments in Washington and at the UN, although sadly the realities on the ground in Darfur remain dire. On March 16, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment offered by Rep. Mike Capuano to the Fiscal Year 2006 supplemental appropriations bill which provided an additional $50 million dollars for Darfur peacekeeping. The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to consider a similar amendment next Tuesday, April 4. The funds would be used to immediately improve the African Union peacekeeping force already on the ground in Darfur, bringing them up to UN standards for inclusion in the eventual UN force, and saving lives in the meantime.
The 25-member European Union this week announced that it would also provide additional near-term funding for the African Union. The EU has approved a contribution of 50 million euros ($60 million), which will likely be presented at the International Pledging Conference in late April or May.
Darfur was a topic of discussion as well at the Arab League summit which took place in Khartoum this week. The summit, which normally spans two days, was shortened to one due to the fact that nearly half of Arab nations decided to boycott the meeting due to its taking place in Sudan. Among those who declined to attend are Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi Arabia King Abdullah. Not surprisingly, those who did attend issued a statement opposing a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur at the behest of Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir. The League did announce that it would likely provide financial aid to the African Union Mission in Sudan, but not until October 1, the day after the African Union’s mandate expires. The African Union is currently expected to transition to a stronger UN force after its mandate expires.
Another important development occurred in the UN Security Council, which on Friday March 24 passed a resolution calling upon the Secretary-General to speed up the planning process for a transition to a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur. The Council also requested the Secretariat to formally present those plans by April 24, and that the plans include options on how the UN could provide additional assistance to the African Union force until such time as the transition can be completed.
At the White House, President Bush met with President Obasanjo of Nigeria and discussed current situation in Darfur and the possibility of a transition from the AU to a stronger UN force in the near term. Darfur was in the news elsewhere in America as well, on editorial pages, at Brian Steidle’s speaking tour events, and through community-based initiatives such as the Save Darfur Coalition’s launch of the Week of Prayer and Action, and former Sudanese slave Simon Deng’s 300-Mile Walk to end Darfur’s Conflict.
The weeks most somber news was once again in Darfur, where reports from humanitarian aid organizations continue to warn of deteriorating conditions of the refugees in Internally Displaced Person’s camps, and of increasing fighting along the Sudan/Chad border.
For additional information on any of these stories, please click the links embedded in the above paragraphs. In addition, a complete list of articles on Darfur is on our website, updated daily. http://savedarfur.org/go.php?q=latestNews.html
Contact information:
- To subscribe, enter your email address under "get email updates" at www.SaveDarfur.org.
- To unsubsribe, please reply with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
- For other correspondence, please write to info@savedarfur.org.
- Please visit us at www.SaveDarfur.org.