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Dr Mukesh Kapila

NAIROBI. – A panel of African civil society leaders yesterday called on the continent’s political leaders to use the AU Summit scheduled next week in Addis Ababa to end the humanitarian suffering in Sudan’s Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states. The panel which was joined by former UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Dr Mukesh Kapila, told a news conference in Nairobi that the AU summit should take a lasting solution to the current fighting in the two states.“We have been waiting for the AU to take action; we have been hearing a lot, seeing agreements being signed and communiques issued but nothing has changed on the ground,” said Nagwa Konda, Director of the Nuba Relief Rehabilitation and Development Organisation.

“I implore the AU to translate all this paperwork into action.

“We need more than communiques: you can’t eat a communique; a communique can’t protect you from air strikes,” Konda told journalists in Nairobi.

According to UN Security Council, the conflict in Southern Kordofan and the neighboring Blue Nile states has had a devastating effect on local people.

Hundreds of thousands of people there are surviving on roots and leaves, John Ging, UN humanitarian operations director said January 12.

Both Sudan’s government and the rebels are blocking access to international aid workers, he added.

The panel identified the January 25 Heads of State meeting on Sudan as a key test of the AU’s “credibility” and urged African leaders to recognise the importance of addressing the conflict in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile for wider regional security.

Kapila who has just returned from a visit to the region, called for an independent commission of enquiry into the conflict amongst warnings of “ethnic cleansing”.

“Ten years ago when I was UN chief in Darfur I tried to alert the world to what was happening, but it was too late,” said Kapila who is also the Special Representative for the Aegis Trust and former UN representative in Darfur.

“I appeal to the AU to look at the humanitarian situation as a priority and establish a full commission of enquiry, with African leadership, into the situation on the ground.”

Shara Joshep Lago, a Muslim human rights activist and a former observer during the Blue Nile State elections, called upon the African Union and the League of Arab States to take action to protect civilians.

Lago told journalists that the humanitarian aspects of the conflict should be a priority, noting nobody will be alive to enjoy a future peace. – Xinhua.