With USD850 million pledged, the March 21 donor conference in Cairo ended with only 42 percent of the USD2 billion targeted aid for Darfur, Agence France-Press reports. Those that made pledges include Algeria, Australia, Brazil, Qatar, Morocco, Turkey and the European Union.
Many Western countries declined to commit funding because of security concerns.
“In the absence of proper conditions on the ground, our focus remains on humanitarian assistance,” said a Norwegian representative, a view shared by other Western diplomats participating in the event, according to AFP.
One delegate said funding will likely go directly to projects to ensure that the money does not get into the hands of Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir, against whom the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for war crimes.
