Chad children affair breaches international law-UN
Source: Reuters
KHARTOUM, Nov 6 (Reuters) - The top U.N. humanitarian official in Sudan, Ameera Haq, condemned European aid workers who tried to take 103 African children from Chad to Europe, saying it contravened U.N. principles. The French charity Zoe's Ark arranged the operation, telling European foster families that they were bringing orphans from Sudan's Darfur region, which borders Chad. But U.N. and Chadian officials said most of the children were from the Chad side of the border with at least one family member they considered a parent. "I strongly condemn the actions of the organisation ... attempting to remove children from Chad," Haq said in a statement issued late on Monday. "Such actions contravene all international laws and standards on the movement of children and infringe on the humanitarian principles we stand for as the United Nations." Relations are tense between the Sudanese government and aid agencies involved in the world's largest aid operation, helping more than 4 million people in Darfur. Many in the aid community feel the actions of Zoe's Ark could make their work harder, increasing suspicion of foreigners working in Sudan. "In Chad and in Sudan, the U.N. and national and international organisations have been effectively responding to humanitarian needs," Haq added. "We must continue to work together with partners in government to ensure that advances in child protection, health and education are not derailed by the actions of an individual organisation." Almost 300,000 Darfuri refugees fled across the long and porous border to Chad after mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against central government in early 2003, accusing it of neglect. The violence has also bled across the frontier, with the spread of arms feeding a low-level insurgency in Chad's east. A visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday prompted the release of three French journalists and four Spanish air hostesses, but 10 others remain in jail in Chad. (Reporting by Opheera McDoom, editing by Dominic Evans)
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