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08/10/2004
Inquiry panel to probe Darfur genocide allegations
A commission of inquiry has been set up by the UN to determine whether acts of genocide have occurred in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region.
The five-member commission will also investigate reports of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights by all parties in Darfur, where Janjaweed militias stand accused of killing and raping thousands of villagers after local rebel groups took up arms against the Sudanese government.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan set up the inquiry after the Security Council requested he do so in a resolution adopted last month on the humanitarian and security crises engulfing Darfur.
About 1.45 million people are internally displaced within Darfur and another 200,000 are living as refugees in neighbouring Chad, and UN officials have described the situation as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Under the Security Council resolution, the commission is also mandated to identify the perpetrators of any acts of genocide “with a view to ensuring that those responsible are held accountable”.
Prof Antonio Cassese of Italy, the first President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), will be the commission’s chairman.
The other members are Diego Garcia-Sayán of Peru, Mohammed Fayek of Egypt, Hina Jilani of Pakistan and Thérese Striggner Scott of Ghana. Dumisa Ntsebeza of South Africa will act as Executive Director, heading the technical team that supports the commission.
The commission has three months to complete its work and report back to Mr Annan. The five members are expected to leave shortly for Sudan.
(gmcg)
The five-member commission will also investigate reports of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights by all parties in Darfur, where Janjaweed militias stand accused of killing and raping thousands of villagers after local rebel groups took up arms against the Sudanese government.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan set up the inquiry after the Security Council requested he do so in a resolution adopted last month on the humanitarian and security crises engulfing Darfur.
About 1.45 million people are internally displaced within Darfur and another 200,000 are living as refugees in neighbouring Chad, and UN officials have described the situation as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Under the Security Council resolution, the commission is also mandated to identify the perpetrators of any acts of genocide “with a view to ensuring that those responsible are held accountable”.
Prof Antonio Cassese of Italy, the first President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), will be the commission’s chairman.
The other members are Diego Garcia-Sayán of Peru, Mohammed Fayek of Egypt, Hina Jilani of Pakistan and Thérese Striggner Scott of Ghana. Dumisa Ntsebeza of South Africa will act as Executive Director, heading the technical team that supports the commission.
The commission has three months to complete its work and report back to Mr Annan. The five members are expected to leave shortly for Sudan.
(gmcg)
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30 September 2004
UN envoys to update world body on Darfur crisis
The UN's top human rights official and its expert on genocide will brief the Security Council today on the findings of their weeklong mission to the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur.
UN envoys to update world body on Darfur crisis
The UN's top human rights official and its expert on genocide will brief the Security Council today on the findings of their weeklong mission to the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur.
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