US President Bill Clinton is preparing to sign a bill that could jeopardize UN humanitarian operations in Sudan, the New York Times reports.
     The bill, which Clinton is scheduled to sign today, would "pursue a contentious strategy" against Sudan's Islamic government by providing food aid directly to rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). To date, the United States has given $1 billion to the UN's Operation Lifeline Sudan, which distributes food to civilians on both sides of the conflict. If the United States were to give food directly to rebels, UN officials say, Sudan's government would "undoubtedly" try to shut down the UN program.
     "We'll have stronger opposition from Khartoum, and there will be greater risk for everyone involved," said Nils Kastberg, director of emergency programs for UNICEF, which administers the Lifeline program. World Vision, a humanitarian agency operating under the Lifeline umbrella, said it would not participate in efforts to assist the rebels directly.
     Some American officials and aid groups are also criticizing the proposed move, saying it inserts the United States on one side of a civil war, contravening a long-held policy of neutrality in food assistance.
     "This is a departure from the way we should be using food aid," said Julia Taft, assistant secretary of state for refugees and humanitarian assistance. Others say the SPLA does not deserve direct US support. According to the State Department, the rebel group is "responsible for extrajudicial killings, beatings, arbitrary detention, forced conscription, slavery and occasional arrests of foreign relief workers without charge."
     Peter Bell, president of Care USA, a major aid group in Sudan, said the new policy is more likely to prolong the conflict than end it. "It's a mistake, because it's to use food as a weapon of war and counter to humanitarian principles," he said. The United States could do much more to put a just peace at the center of its policy," he added. "After 2 million dead and 4 million displaced, we need to end the conflict" (Jane Perlez, New York Times, 29 Nov).

General Assembly Calls For Humanitarian Access
     On 22 November, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution expressing concern about the impact of the war on human rights and the humanitarian situation in Sudan, particularly concerning women and children. It urged parties in the conflict "to grant safe and unhindered access to international agencies and humanitarian organizations" for the distribution of humanitarian aid.
     The United States abstained from the resolution, calling it "flawed," and added that Sudan has used "starvation as a tactic of war."

WFP Warns Of Impending Crisis
     Meanwhile, the World Food Program has warned of a "looming" humanitarian crisis in southern Sudan as aid agencies are being denied access to vulnerable people because of inter-factional fighting and government restrictions on relief flights.
     "[W]e are urging all parties to the conflict to provide total access and to guarantee the delivery of food," warned Mohamed Saliheen, WFP representative in Sudan (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 26 Nov).