International Failures Prolong Darfur's Misery

An IWPR investigation into the floundering aid effort in Darfur has revealed the unwillingness of the international community to stand up to interference and obstruction from the government of Sudan.

Thousands of people uprooted by war continue to be cut off from aid as United Nations agencies and the governments which fund them fail to effectively confront Khartoum on the issue.

Eight years after the conflict began, the joint UN/African Union peacekeeping mission is still denied access to key conflict zones, while UN aid agencies are prevented from assessing humanitarian needs and delivering supplies.

Meanwhile, the leaders of camps for displaced people across Darfur report shortages of food and medical supplies which have caused child malnutrition and mortality to soar. They say the government is failing in its duty to protect and provide for them, and is in fact doing the opposite.

The ICC says the government’s treatment of displaced Darfuris amounts to further evidence of genocide by attrition.

Actors on the ground and experts outside Sudan say the thinly-veiled threats made by government agencies against aid workers and diplomats, compounded by the competing priorities of donor states, mean that international actors are failing to challenge Khartoum’s continuing brutal treatment of displaced Darfuris. They say it is time for the countries that donate aid to Darfur to present a united front and insist that the Sudanese government fulfils its obligation to facilitate effective aid operations.