UN Special Envoy to Present Report on Chad to Security Council

The United Nations Secretary General's special representative to the Central African Republic and Chad is scheduled to present his report on the region to the Security Council Tuesday. In his report, Victor Da Silva Angelo, will focus on the security situation in Chad which he said is influenced considerably by the situation in Sudan's Darfur region.

Angelo said the tense diplomatic relations between Sudan and Chad have emboldened rebels to carryout insurgent activities into Chad, which disrupt humanitarian work.

From Portugal, Angelo told VOA that the United Nations seeks basic human rights issues that are respected by all.

"Today, I will be talking to the council about Chad and also the relation between Chad and Sudan. And a little bit also about the security situation in the Central African Republic because we have to look at these things from a regional perspective," Angelo said.

He said the humanitarian circumstances in Sudan's Darfur region directly impact neighboring Chad and the entire region.

"The other situation in Darfur does influence the situation in Chad, and how Darfur and Chad…have on the security situation in the Central African Republic. So all these things are related," he said.

Angelo said the humanitarian situation in Chad has declined.

"I will be telling the council that since my last report and particularly since May, the situation has certainly not improved," Angelo said.

He said recent rebel insurgencies have undermined humanitarian work.

"As you are aware, in the beginning of May, we have some serious rebel activities inside Chad and close to the border in Sudan. And since then, we have seen a deterioration of the security situation in some areas of eastern Chad, particularly in those areas that are pretty close to the border and also in areas close to the refugee camp," he said.

Angelo said there is need for more manpower and logistics to help with the humanitarian situation in Chad.

"At this point my main concern is to make sure that I have enough men on the ground to be able to cover the entire area that I am supposed to cover. We are talking about a very, very large area about 1000 kilometers from north to south and 400 kilometers from east to west," Angelo said.



He said the United Nations has yet to receive security help with its humanitarian work.

"For the time being, we don't have the soldiers that have been promised to us. We have only 46 percent of the soldiers that we are supposed to have, and we are still trying to put together the military and security bases that we need to operate. At this stage, my main problem is to be able to mobilize all the security personnel that have been authorized by the council and make sure that I can deplore these people on the ground," he said.

Angelo said the presence of adequate security will provide protection of refugees from rebel insurgent activities.