The case for Darfur sanctions
2005-01-31 13:05
Abuja - The UN Security Council should continue to consider sanctions against Sudan over its bloodied Darfur region, although council deliberations have stalled due to divisions among members, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said.
Annan has received a UN commission report examining whether genocide has been committed in Darfur and he will forward the study to council members "very shortly," he told reporters on Sunday in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
"The council itself has considered sanctions and had not been able to move forward because of divisions. I believe that sanctions should still be on the table," Annan said, without elaborating.
Asked whether the study concluded genocide has been committed in Darfur, Annan replied: "Regardless of how the commission describes what is going on in Darfur, there is no doubt that serious crimes have been committed."
"Serious violations of international humanitarian law and gross violations of human rights have taken place. This cannot be allowed," he said.
Annan didn't say what type of sanctions were under consideration or describe the Security Council members' disagreements. He spoke at a summit of African leaders.
The United States - one of five permanent Security Council members - has called the violence in Darfur genocide and has been a leader in trying to punish those responsible. Other nations, though, have questioned whether sanctions are the best way to improve the situation for the people of Darfur.
The Darfur conflict began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Army and allied Justice and Equality Movement took up arms against what they saw as years of state neglect and discrimination against Sudanese of African origin.
The government responded with a counterinsurgency campaign in which the Janjaweed, an Arab militia, committed wide-scale abuses against the African population. An estimated 1.8 million people have been displaced in the conflict.
Hardships including disease and malnutrition are believed to have killed more than 70 000 of Darfur's displaced people, but many more have been killed in fighting.
- AP