UN warns Sudan to address Darfur crisis or face action

The UN has pledged to take action against Sudan within 30 days if it does not make progress on disarming the militias accused of indiscriminate murders, rapes and other attacks against civilians in the Darfur region

Punitive measures include steps allowed under the UN Charter, such as issuing economic penalties, restricting transport and communications, and severing diplomatic relations.

With China and Pakistan abstaining, and the other 13 members approving the text, Friday's Security Council resolution agreed to impose an arms embargo against the Janjaweed militias and all other non-governmental forces in Darfur, which has been described as the site of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The resolution says the Council might take measures against Sudan if it does not show progress on achieving the commitments – most notably the pledges to disarm the Janjaweed and restore security to Darfur – it outlined in a joint communiqué with the UN on 3 July.

The resolution also calls for the resumption of political dialogue between the government and Darfur’s two rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

US ambassador John Danforth said the Council had been forced to act because government forces and the Janjaweed, which are allied to Khartoum, had killed 30,000 people since February last year.

“The last thing we wanted to do was lay the groundwork for sanctions, but the government of Sudan has left us no choice,” he told the Council after it voted.

Ambassador Wang Guangya of China, announcing his country’s abstention, said the adoption of mandatory measures if commitments were not met was “not helpful in resolving the situation in Darfur and may further complicate the situation”.

Humanitarian agencies estimate that 1.2 million people have become internally displaced within Darfur and another 200,000 live as refugees in neighbouring Chad because of the Janjaweed attacks and the fighting between Sudanese forces and the SLM/A and the JEM.

(gmcg)