HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS SAYS DISPLACED PEOPLE IN DARFUR ARE LIVING IN “PRISONS WITHOUT WALLS”

27 September 2004

KHARTOUM, 25 September -- United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said today the vast numbers of internally-displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur continue to live in a climate of fear, with no confidence in the authorities to protect them from ongoing abuses.

The High Commissioner and Juan Méndez, the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on the prevention of genocide, spent a week in the western Sudanese region and in Khartoum to explore what further immediate action could be taken to improve the protection of all civilians in Darfur, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable, especially IDPs. They will submit a report with recommendations to the Secretary-General next week and address the United Nations Security Council.

"The estimated 1.45 million IDPs of Darfur are living in prisons without walls", Mrs. Arbour said. "The stories we heard in all three states of Darfur convey an acute sense of insecurity. Displaced people cannot envisage returning home because they do not trust the Government of Sudan to protect them ? at best they feel the authorities respond inadequately to their concerns, and at worst that they are in collusion with their abusers, including armed groups and militias generally described as Janjaweed".

The High Commissioner and Mr. Méndez said their assessment revealed a considerable gap in the perception of the situation between the authorities on the one hand and IDPs, international agencies, and national and international non-governmental groups on the other.

"There is an obvious disconnect in the way the Government sees the situation", Mrs. Arbour said. "This is most obvious and worrisome in the official denial of the extent and gravity of rape and sexual violence against women in Darfur".

"Women who have been raped told us of feeling shame after being attacked", she said. "It's time to put the shame where it rightfully belongs: on the perpetrators and on those who allow these crimes to happen".

The High Commissioner said that while a lasting solution to the crisis depends on a political settlement among the warring parties, additional measures can and should be taken now to extend better protection to IDPs and the people of Darfur in general.

"We are currently elaborating our action plan and recommendations to the international community", Mr. Méndez said. "One thing is clear, however: the international presence has improved security in Darfur, and an expansion in numbers and capacity, including of human rights monitors, could be instrumental in preventing further massive and widespread violations".

The High Commissioner and the Special Adviser arrived in Khartoum on 18 September and then travelled to El Fashir in North Darfur; Nyala in South Darfur, and El Genina in West Darfur. They visited camps for IDPs in the three states and held talks with IDPs, local residents, national and state officials, representatives of United Nations agencies, aid groups and local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). They hailed the work of aid agencies and NGOs as "an immeasurable contribution towards improving a dire situation".