Statement from the Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan on expulsion of NRC from South Darfur

Khartoum, 29th November 2006 - The Humanitarian Coordinator for the United Nations system in Sudan expressed his grave concern at the expulsion of the Norwegian Refugee Council from Darfur and his disappointment at the lack of clear justification for this expulsion.

NRC has played a key role in coordinating humanitarian activities to respond to the needs of over a 100,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kalma camp as well as tens of thousands of other vulnerable persons with food and education programmes throughout South Darfur. Their expulsion threatens to create a significant vacuum in terms of humanitarian service provision in South Darfur and places a greater strain on existing humanitarian operations.