Action needed in Sudan to prevent another Rwanda: Annan

Ten years after more than 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered by their fellow countrymen, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for action to stop human rights abuses in Sudan.

Addressing the Geneva-based UN Commission on Human Rights yesterday, Mr Annan voiced his “grave concern” over reported human rights abuses in Darfur, citing a recent warning by the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator of "ethnic cleansing" in the area.

“Such reports leave me with a deep sense of foreboding. Whatever terms it uses to describe the situation, the international community cannot stand idle,” said Mr Annan.

The Secretary-General said that "decisive action" in Darfur would be “the only fitting memorial” the UN can offer to those who perished in the hundred-day frenzy of ethnic violence that overtook Rwanda in 1994.

President George W Bush has also condemned the recent atrocities and appealed directly to President Bashir of Sudan to stop local militias from "committing atrocities" against the local population.

The Sudanese were also urged to provide "unrestricted access" to humanitarian aid agencies.

President Bush's appeal comes after more than two-and-a-half years of diplomatic efforts between the US, the Sudanese government and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) to bring peace to Sudan.

Mr Bush said: "This civil war is one of the worst humanitarian tragedies of our time, responsible for the deaths of two million people over two decades. Achieving peace, and reaching a just and comprehensive agreement, must be an urgent priority for both sides.

"I continue to hope for peace for the people of Sudan and for normalization of relations between Sudan and the United States. However, the government of Sudan must not remain complicit in the brutalisation of Darfur. I renew my call to Khartoum to bring the peace process with the SPLM to a just conclusion and to bring peace and justice to Darfur."

Elsewhere, Kofi Annan has outlined his five-point 'Action Plan to Prevent Genocide' - the first step of which must be to prevent armed conflict by addressing the issues that cause it, he said.

“We must attack the roots of violence and genocide: hatred, intolerance, racism, tyranny, and the dehumanising public discourse that denies whole groups of people their dignity and their rights,” he said.

Mr Annan's prevention plan also called for; closer protection of civilians during war; bringing the participants of genocide to justice; creating an early-warning mechanism for the Security Council; and taking swift and decisive action against instances of genocide as they arise.

“If there is one legacy I would most wish to leave to my successors, it is an Organization both better equipped to prevent genocide, and able to act decisively to stop it when prevention fails,” said Mr Annan.

(gmcg)