At Security Council, U.N. Official Calls Effort in Darfur Insufficient

UNITED NATIONS - In the face of a "horrendously bad and worsening situation," the U.N. Security Council and other international players failed to exert sufficient pressure on the government of Sudan and other responsible parties to counter violence in Darfur, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator, Jan Egeland, told members of the council yesterday.

Mr. Egeland, who detailed the plight of 3.5 million Sudanese "in need of humanitarian assistance," recently was barred by the Khartoum government from entering Darfur. Secretary-General Annan said he planned to speak with President al-Bashir regarding Mr. Egeland's treatment, but was notified subsequently that Mr. Bashir would not discuss the matter.

Mr. Annan's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, yesterday confirmed that Khartoum also denied entry visas for several dozen military planners. They were sent to Darfur to chart a course for future deployment of a Security Council-mandated U.N. peacekeeping force that would replace the African Union troops in the region.

"Not letting me in, and not letting colleagues in, is a symptom of a larger whole," Mr. Egeland told reporters yesterday after briefing the council. Worse than denying entrance to U.N. workers, he said, was Khartoum's expulsion of a Norwegian refugee council from a refugee camp. Pressure on Sudan's leaders must be increased, and "not only from the West. It has to come from within Africa, it has to come from the Arab world, it has to come from Asia," Mr. Egeland said.

"The government of Sudan," Mr. Egelenad added, does not "feel the pressure as tough as they should feel. I don't think the guerillas feel a pressure as tough as they should feel. We feel too much alone at the moment as humanitarian workers in Darfur."

Many at the United Nations, however, including some of the Security Council's 15 members, believe that pressure is the wrong approach. Despite the denial of entry permits to the military planners, Mr. Dujarric said, the United Nations needs to continue dealing with the Sudanese government so that Mr. Annan can fulfill the council decision to send forces to the region.

"At some point you will need to have a field assessment team on the ground," Mr. Dujarric told The New York Sun. Until then, however, planning will move forward without a ground presence in Sudan. The denial of visas to U.N. peacekeeping department planners is but "a bump in the road," he said.

Earlier this week, under pressure from China, Russia, and Qatar, the Security Council delayed action on an American-proposed resolution to impose targeted sanctions against a Sudanese government official, a pro-government militia leader in Darfur, and two rebel strongmen.

For "all the objectives, whether on the political or the humanitarian side, to be successful, I think you need to have trust and confidence between the different players," China's ambassador, Wang Guangya, said.

China - one of five veto-wielding council members and the council's president for April - has been the most aggressive defender of Khartoum within the U.N. body. Mr. Wang said yesterday that imposing sanctions on Sudan could "harden positions" among those in peace negotiations currently taking place in Abuja, Nigeria.