Bill Richardson returns to U.N. to meet new U.N. chief and call for end to Darfur conflict

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February 7, 2007





UNITED NATIONS: Bill Richardson, a former ambassador and a current U.S. governor and presidential candidate, returned to the United Nations Wednesday to meet the new U.N. secretary-general and to call for increased international pressure on Sudan's president to end the conflict in Darfur.

Richardson said he briefed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon — who just returned from an Africa trip that included talks with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir — on his visit to Sudan in January where he also met the Sudanese leader. He said he got the Sudanese government and three rebel groups to agree to a 30-day ceasefire though one reneged the following day.

Richardson said he told Ban he strongly backed the secretary-general's appointment of a special envoy to try to get all rebel groups to return to talks and sign a peace deal and the creation of a "hybrid" African Union-United Nations force to help end the four-year conflict in Darfur.

"The first message is, I believe the United Nations and the special envoy is the most important entity in bringing peace to Darfur and easing a massive humanitarian crisis," the New Mexico governor and Democratic presidential candidate said.

A 7,000-strong African Union force is currently on the ground in Darfur, but Richardson said, "I believe it's critically important that the international community continue its pressure to make it a U.N. force."

"The AU is there, but I believe trained peacekeepers by the United Nations will ease the crisis substantially. So that should be a major effort of the international community, the United States, the U.N. and anybody else," he said.

report: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/07/news/UN-GEN-UN-Sudan-Richardson.php

[skipos]

1. Kick. More people need to know about this imo. nt