Minister to discuss Darfur
The Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern will today meet with Amnesty International in London to discuss the worsening situation in war-ravaged Darfur.
More than 400,000 people have died in the troubled west African region which has been declared a humanitarian disaster zone by the UN.
Mr Ahern, who visited Sudan in July, will discuss human rights violations and the hoped-for deployment of UN troops with Amnesty International general secretary Irene Khan.
Amnesty has called for an immediate end to sexual violence against women and girls in Darfur.
Sudan has so far blocked attempts by the international community to send a UN peacekeeping force into the region.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Mr Ahern said: “Giving up on Darfur is not an option. The international community needs to do more.”
Ms Khan, who has been secretary general of Amnesty International since 2001, is the first woman, the first Muslim and the first Asian to hold the position.
She previously spent 20 years in several roles with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
During his visit to London, the minister will also open the new Luton Irish Centre, which has been part-funded by the Irish Government.
