Holy See Urges More Effort to Halt Darfur Tragedy

GENEVA, DEC. 13, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See laments that until now no "effective actions" have been taken to put an end to the tragedy in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, apostolic nuncio and permanent observer of the Holy See to the U.N. offices in Geneva, delivered that message in an address to the fourth special session of the Human Rights Council, dedicated to Darfur.

The archbishop noted that for three years the Holy See "has been following with grave concern the terrible suffering of the people caught up in the tragic conflicts intermittently erupting in the Darfur region of Sudan."

"The situation on the ground, as a variety of official and private firsthand witnesses indicates, shows a horrific violation of human rights: killing of children, sexual abuse and rape of girls and women, forced uprooting of population, burning of villages, attacks on Internally Displaced People camps, targeting of unarmed civilians," Archbishop Tomasi stated.

"To the present human and environmental disaster, the long-range consequences of such indiscriminate violence are adding more suffering," he noted. "The disruption of agriculture greatly limits the production of food; intergroup relations will be more difficult to heal; the danger of regional destabilization increases; traumatized refugees find it harder to start life again."

The Human Rights Council has now taken up the plight of the people of Darfur and aims at finding ways for the protection of their basic human rights.

Urgent task

According to the papal representative, "The urgent task is stopping the violence, the destruction, the impunity. The victims are not just statistics; they are real people. Indeed the priority is action to end the killings and the abuses over political arrangements and commercial interests.

"The region will gain enormously if an active cooperation is put in place among the United Nations, the African Union, and the government of Sudan. Local violence would abate; neighboring countries would remain undisturbed; the civilian population could start rebuilding their lives and their region."

According to the Holy See's delegate, a "moment of hope" has been given by the Darfur Peace Agreement and by the commitment of the international community to assist in its implementation.

"On these positive steps it remains possible to join forces and to initiate a process of pacification and reconciliation," he said. "For sure there are practical steps to be taken: impartial collection of evidence, eventual assessment of responsibilities, renewed engagement in the protection of civilians, delivery of humanitarian assistance, disarmament of non-state groups, all this within the framework of respect of human rights."

A just solution will come about, Archbishop Tomasi stressed, "when the voice of the peoples of Darfur is heard and recognized, and when their fundamental human rights are respected, especially the right to life, to political and religious freedom, and to a peaceful existence in their own territories."

Major challenge

The prelate said that according to the Catholic Church "the Darfur conflict is a major humanitarian challenge of huge proportions, but also an opportunity to address in a new collaborative way endemic problems so as to create a future of hope for Sudan and for the entire African continent beyond regional and international interests."

"The crisis under discussion has provoked debates and international complaints, but insufficient effective actions," he said. "The council has a concrete chance to provide a constructive compromise that leaves aside secondary modalities and focus on the plight of the victims.

"In this way the international community will not repeat in vain 'never again,' but will undertake actions of solidarity and support for a comprehensive, just and durable solution."