New Funding for Peacebuilding and Stability in Sudan announced by Minister of State Lenihan
Mr. Conor Lenihan TD, Minister of State for Irish Aid and Human Rights, today confirmed additional Irish funding of €2 million to support the peacebuilding activities of the African Union Mission (AMIS) in the Darfur region of Sudan.
This brings to €5 million the support provided by Irish Aid to AMIS since 2004.
Minister Lenihan said:
“I am very conscious of the huge challenges which the African Union Mission continues to face in the context of the ever-deteriorating security situation in Darfur. We also remain deeply concerned by the humanitarian crisis still faced by nearly four million people across the region. Without security we cannot access those who most need our assistance. More than half a million people were displaced within Darfur in 2006 which illustrates the ongoing seriousness of the humanitarian plight. The role of AMIS continues to be vital in providing a necessary level of security and protection for these people”.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dermot Ahern, underlined Ireland’s commitment to achieving stability in Darfur.
“I am pleased that Ireland is in a position to step up to the plate and to provide further financial assistance to the vital African Union Mission. From my own time on the ground in Darfur, I can attest to the value of the protection role which we expect to be delivered by the AMIS force. International humanitarian assistance is reliant on a secure environment for delivery and AMIS’s role in this regard remains critical. We remain strongly of the view that the Sudanese authorities should agree to the deployment of a strengthened UN/AU hybrid force in Darfur, as proposed by former Secretary General Kofi Annan. . In the meantime, it is essential to assure the African Union Mission in Sudan of the means to carry out its mandate”.
Note to Editors:
In the period 2004-2007, €29.7 million in emergency and recovery funding alone has been provided to Sudan. Of this, €19 million was provided directly to the situation in Darfur.
To date in 2007, new funding of over €6 million has already been provided for emergency and recovery activities in Sudan (not including the amount announced today) and further funding will be brought forward during the remainder of the year.
Ireland’s contribution will be formally announced at the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on Monday (GAERC). The international community has been called upon to provide further funds to AMIS to enable it continue its vital role ahead of the hoped-for transition to a new force. Ireland is among the first to respond to that call with our funding commitment.
ENDS++
1st March 2007
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