Just came from a series of meetings with our international partners in South Darfur.
We discussed a number of Darfur’s complex challenges with leaders from the World Food Programme, United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), the UN Population Fund and other UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs.
Security continues to be a serious challenge for humanitarian agencies trying to access vulnerable populations. And now there’s a disturbing trend of attacks and abductions of humanitarian staff. Two UNAMID peacekeepers were recently killed when their vehicle was ambushed outside of Nyala.
Insecurity is also preventing the millions of displaced Dafuris from returning home.
But in addition to the security concerns, many Darfuris are wondering what they have to go back to, especially the young people, who have largely grown up in these camps.
Our discussions this afternoon centered on these critical security and livelihood questions. We have incredibly committed partners here who are bringing serious experience and analytical skills to these questions. There’s a real desire to think differently and creatively about the way forward in Darfur which leaves me hopeful.
