Group: Administration sending mixed signals on Darfur
The American Jewish World Service says the Obama administration is “sending contradictory signals in recognizing the magnitude of what has taken place and continues to occur on the ground in Darfur.”
The organization, long active on Darfur, expressed concern Friday after Gen. J. Scott Gration, the U.S. special envoy to Sudan, referred to conditions there as the “remnants of genocide.”
Earlier, Ambassador Susan Rice, the U.S. representative to the United Nations, had described the current situation in Darfur as “genocide.”
"We believe that when conditions are as deplorable as they are, when millions remain displaced from their homes — many of them victims of rape and assault — lacking sufficient food and drinking water, it is dangerous to disagree in public about whether the genocide continues," AJWS president Ruth Messinger said in a statement.
"What is essential is that we get assurances that the full complement of humanitarian aid has been completely restored and that the Obama administration recognizes that the status quo of the past seven years is unacceptable,” she said. “This is particularly the case when the onset of the rainy season continues to pose the threat that waterborne illness will spread rapidly among the population in the camps. This would cause widespread and rapid loss of life, advancing the concerted effort of the Sudanese government to cause a massive civilian death toll.
Messinger said a conference on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between North and South Sudan in Washington next week presents an opportunity to bring peace to the region and allow the return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes.
“A successful CPA conference could allow the administration to then implement its existing agreements and focus immediately on negotiating, as well, for a viable peace in Darfur,” she said. “Failure to do so will only lead to more death and displacement."
