Press centre

Statement

UNICEF Statement on the Situation in Darfur, December 2006

Massive investment by the humanitarian community has reduced rates of global acute malnutrition and mortality since mid-2004, but they remain perilously close to emergency levels. This year’s UN and Government of National Unity Darfur-wide Emergency Food Security and Nutrition survey, found that malnutrition rates have begun to increase.  Over 70 per cent of the population is experiencing food insecurity, and that the coverage of lifesaving interventions such as measles vaccination are still below the level required to prevent outbreaks. Six other localized nutrition surveys have highlighted areas of Darfur where more than one in five children under the age of five years are acutely malnourished.

It is increasingly difficult for humanitarian actors to access vulnerable populations.  Since May 2006, UNICEF has received reports of 23 incidences of non-governmental organizations – essential implementing partners for our agency – being forced to withdraw staff from areas of Darfur because of growing insecurity. Of these, 12 resulted in the permanent withdrawal of personnel. In the last month alone, as a result of withdrawals of humanitarian staff, the UN estimates that some 700,000 people have been left highly vulnerable.

The NGOs are not alone in being affected; in July this year, three staff from the State Water Corporation in West Darfur – the main partner for UNICEF in providing clean water and sanitation facilities to all communities – were killed working in a camp for internally displaced persons. Nine State Water Corporation technical staff were abducted by armed groups in South Darfur in October, while undertaking humanitarian assessments; five are still missing. One area of progress highlighted in the Darfur Food Security and Nutrition Survey was a significant increase in access to clean water this year– a testimony to the dedication and commitment of these workers. Such attacks, violence and intimidation towards humanitarian staff, combined with decreasing humanitarian space across Darfur, put children’s and women’s lives at risk.

Then there is the gross violation of women’s and children’s rights. As access diminishes, the ability of the humanitarian community to effectively monitor and report such violations becomes increasingly difficult. There is an environment of impunity in Darfur, which must be urgently addressed.

Despite the Darfur Peace Agreement containing detailed provisions for protection of children’s rights, children are being killed, maimed and abused. One month ago, in North Darfur, four children were killed in a militia attack against a village in Mellit. Two women and two children were reported killed in a similar attack in Jebel Moon in West Darfur at the end of November. In August, eleven children were confirmed killed in a series of attacks in Buram, in South Darfur, again following militia raids on villages. We believe that many more children may have been killed in incidents that cannot be properly verified because of constraints on access. The Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict in Sudan, released in August, also provided evidence of recruitment of children into armed groups by all sides in the conflict.

There are regular reports of abductions, sexual violence and rape against women and girls. For example, in the second week of November, two girls – aged 13 and 14 – were raped while collecting firewood near a camp for internally displaced persons in South Darfur. The same week, six women were abducted by armed men; only one woman escaped.

Even places traditionally seen as safe havens for children are under threat. Last month, in North Darfur, two children were injured following a bombing next to their school. Last week, again in North Darfur, a 12 year old school child was shot dead by armed men in the street. The same week, armed militia broke into a girls’ school terrifying girls and female teachers, who were forced to flee the premises.

The humanitarian situation has been maintained only because humanitarian actors had the resources and access needed to hold the line. If the current situation continues, the line may not be held much longer, and more mothers and children will suffer and die.

The international community, the Government of Sudan, and all those currently involved in the conflict in Darfur, have a collective responsibility to stop the needless misery faced by millions of women and children. It is imperative that a speedy political resolution to this crisis is found, before more lives are lost.