08/16/2006

Dr. Magzoub El Khalifa, an adviser to the president of Sudan, objected to a Refugees International bulletin (AMIS Needs New Resources for New Responsibilities, July 27) saying that violence has increased in Darfur since the signing of the May 5th Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA).

In a statement faxed to Refugees International by the Sudanese embassy, Dr. El Khalifa said that, “Darfur is now safer than it was before signing the DPA” and that humanitarian conditions have improved. This assertion contradicts reports of decling security by the United Nations and the African Union.

Dr. El Khalifa was Sudan’s lead negotiator at the conference that produced the Darfur Peace Agreement, which the government of Sudan signed with one of three rebel groups, and he is now in charge of implementing the agreement. As a result, Dr. El Khalifa has emerged as one of Sudan’s primary contacts with the UN and the United States.

In a letter responding to Dr. El Khalifa, Refugees International president Kenneth H. Bacon cited a series of UN reports on the increase in violence in Darfur since the agreement was signed, including accounts of DPA violations by the government. Peace won’t come to Darfur until the fighting stops and a large UN peacekeeping force replaces a small African Union force there, Bacon said. The government of Sudan currently opposes the deployment of a UN force to Darfur.