union led by Libya known as the Community of Sahel-Saharan States. Sudan also belongs to the African Development Bank (ADB) and receives significant assistance from that organization. As of 2011, it had been in arrears to the ADB since 1995 but had begun making payments in order to pay down the debt. Sudan is an active member of the Nile Basin Initiative, which brought the riparian states together to discuss technical and political cooperation related to Nile water issues. Multilateral relations Arab and Islamic organizations Sudan joined the Arab League at independence in 1956 and used the organization over the years at every possible opportunity to support its policies. Following the outbreak of conflict in Darfur in 2003 and sharp criticism of its policies by Western countries, Sudan relied on strong support from the Arab League. The Arab League opposed sanctions against Sudan, and several members provided humanitarian aid to refugees fleeing the fighting. By the end of 2004, the Arab League joined the cease-fire monitoring committee for Darfur. Al-Bashir served as the Arab League chairman in 2006. Sudan joined the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in 1969. It sought support in the organization for activities such as the reconstruction of war-ravaged South Sudan. Like the Arab League, the OIC supported Khartoum's actions in Darfur. Sudan is also a member of a number of other Arab or Islamic regional organizations, including the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the Arab Monetary Fund, and the Islamic Development Bank. United Nations Sudan joined the United Nations in 1956, and its various institutions began almost immediately to assist Sudan. UN refugee assistance during Sudan's first civil war began in the early 1960s. In 1965 one of the South Sudanese exile organizations unsuccessfully demanded the intervention of the United Nations to end atrocities. Sudan experienced frequent criticism in UN bodies throughout the first civil war that ended in 1972. Khartoum showed great skill in using the United Nations in pursuit of its own interests. One example occurred in 1976, when Sudan accused Libya at the United Nations of supporting a failed coup attempt. Because the country was engaged continuously in a civil war in the South until 2005 except for the period 1972–83, Sudan was the subject of many UN resolutions. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme created Operation Lifeline Sudan in 1989 to deal with the problems