UN Vice- Secretary General Jan Egeland´s term of office ends on 12th December "The United Nations loses its conscience"

"As a "fearless advocate of the suffering and dispossessed" the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) honoured on Monday the retiring deputy Secretary General of the UN. On 12th December the term of office of the Norwegian comes to an end, the man who since 2003 has been concerned in the UN organisation for humanitarian affairs. "With his dedication he saved hundreds of thousands of lives in Sudan, the Congo, Uganda and in many other crisis areas", said the GfbV Africa expert Ulrich Delius, "with him the United Nations loses its conscience".

Leaving all diplomatic considerations aside Egeland raised his voice for the victims of violence, expulsion and the most extreme violations of human rights With his massive criticism of governments which have contempt for human beings and the failure of the international community to stop the most extreme violations of human rights he has not only made friends. On account of his tireless work for the defenceless civilian population in Darfur the Sudanese government has prevented him from entering Sudan. But unlike his predecessor and many high-ranking UN officials Egeland has not allowed himself to be browbeaten and used the dispute with the Sudanese government to draw more attention to the fate of people living in misery.

By contrast with the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who only in the last months of his term of office has more clearly accused governments of massively infringing humanitarian international law, Egeland has during his entire period of office raised his voice for those whose cries for help have not been heard by the world. "This is seldom in the United Nations, where opportunism and putative statistical successes often count for more than a concrete improvement in the situation of the civilian population in their care", said Delius. "Egeland´s retirement is a severe loss for the credibility of the United Nations and the international community."

In his last report for the Security Council Egeland accused the heads of state on 4th December 2006 with not keeping their promise at the millennium summit in September 2005 of protecting the civilian population in Darfur. He waited in vain for the international community to increase its pressure on the Sudanese government. Security in Darfur is in free fall so that now the whole region is threatening to sink into war, warned Egeland. Six million people will soon be dependent on famine relief.