"[I]n Darfur all of our nightmares have become realities."

Jan Egeland, the UN's Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, warns:

Our entire humanitarian operation in Darfur – the only lifeline for more than three million people – is presently at risk. We need immediate action on the political front to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe with massive loss of life. Since 2004 we have seen tens of thousands of deaths each year. If the humanitarian operation were to collapse, we could see hundreds of thousands of deaths. In short, we may end up with a man-made catastrophe of an unprecedented scale in Darfur.
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In recent weeks we have all been distracted by developments in other parts of the world. In the meantime in Darfur all of our nightmares have become realities. Over the last two years the international humanitarian community has gave a glimmer of hope to the suffering of Darfur — we made significant progress in improving health, education, nutrition and water and sanitation indicators to commendable levels. This has been achieved through the generous contribution of donors and more importantly the courage — and tragically the lives — of humanitarians on the ground.

This can all be lost within weeks — not months. I cannot give a starker warning than to say that we are at a point where even hope may escape us and the lives of hundreds of thousands could be needlessly lost. The Security Council and member states around this table with influence on the parties to the conflict must act now. Hundreds of humanitarian organizations from around the world are watching what you will be doing or may refrain from doing in the coming weeks.