Oxfam is warning that the entire humanitarian response to the crisis in Darfur, which now affects over four million people, is at serious risk of collapse because of deteriorating security in the region. Targeted attacks on humanitarian workers and operations continue to rise, and are now occurring on a daily basis. Frequent violent hijackings, assaults, abductions and intimidation of staff have left aid agencies' ability to reach people in need at its lowest level in over three years.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian need in the region is still growing: another 140,000 people fled their homes in early 2007, and thousands more continue to be displaced. Oxfam is calling on global leaders and the international community to place greater pressure on all the many parties to the conflict to end attacks on civilians and aid workers immediately. Additionally, getting all parties to agree and adhere to a ceasefire is the most urgent priority if the world is to address the enormous humanitarian suffering in the region.

The UN Security Council visited Addis Ababa, and the government of Sudan on 16 and 17 June, to discuss the Darfur crisis with NGOs, donors, and the government. Additionally, an important ministerial event will be held in Paris on 25 June. It will address the peace process, the strengthening of the African Union (AU) presence in Darfur, the timetable for setting up of a proposed hybrid AU-UN peacekeeping force, and options to protect civilians in Chad.