U.N. Chief: Aiding Darfur A Priority

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told President Bush on Tuesday the United Nations is speeding up efforts to find a political solution to the four-year conflict in Darfur that has killed more than 200,000 people.

"We have made considerable progress, and we are going to step up the political process," Ban said while seated with Mr. Bush in the Oval Office.

Ban cited positive talks seeking peace that U.N. and African Union envoys had this week in Libya, adding that another meeting to find a political solution would be in early August in Arusha, Tanzania.

"We are also going to facilitate humanitarian assistance. I'm going to step up efforts to deploy hybrid operations as soon as possible in Darfur to resolve this issue as soon as possible. In that regard, I appreciate U.S. government strong support in this matter," Ban said.

The "hybrid" African Union-United Nations force is the final phase of a three-stage U.N. plan to beef up the beleaguered 7,000-strong AU force now on the ground in Darfur. The draft resolution would authorized up to 19,555 military personnel, 3,772 international police and 19 special police units with up to 2,660 officers for the AU-U.N. force.

The U.N. and Western governments had been pressing Sudan since November to accept the plan, but Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir kept delaying action. In April, he agreed to the second phase, a "heavy support package" including 3,000 U.N. troops, police and civilian personnel along with aircraft and other equipment.

On another issue, Ban, who has made climate change a top priority since becoming secretary-general in January, invited Mr. Bush to attend a high-level U.N. meeting on climate change in September. The White House said Mr. Bush had accepted an invitation to attend a dinner at the meeting.

Ban, who claims U.S. participation is critical in crafting a new global climate pact, scheduled the meeting the day before the annual General Assembly ministerial meeting begins. Mr. Bush traditionally travels to New York to address the opening session as the representative of the host country.

The secretary-general wants the Sept. 24 meeting to provide political momentum and guidelines for a larger meeting on a new world climate agreement that is being held in December in Bali, Indonesia, to negotiate a treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

The Kyoto agreement aims to limit carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and factories in industrialized countries. The United States is not a party to the agreement, and developing countries like China and India are exempt from its obligations.