UN renews Darfur mandate
2008-08-01 13:55
New York - The UN Security Council on Thursday renewed the mandate of UN-African Union troops in Darfur, although the United States abstained over a call to defer indictment of Sudan's president on genocide charges.
Fourteen of the council's 15 members voted in favour of Resolution 1828 that extends the mandate of the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur (UNAMID) for one year from Thursday, when it was set to expire.
Britain's UN Ambassador John Sawers, whose delegation drafted the text, made it clear that there was "unanimous support" among council members for UNAMID and the extension of its mandate.
Diplomats said the US delegation earlier raised 11th-hour objections to compromise language agreed on Wednesday that finessed sharp differences over a call to delay a decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on whether to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir on genocide charges.
AU amendment not included
An amendment sought by South Africa and Libya on behalf of the African Union (AU) was not included in the final draft, which instead includes compromise language taking note of a July 21 AU communique that raised concern that any indictment of Beshir might jeopardise the Darfur peace process.
That statement asked the Security Council to defer for one year, renewable, any prosecution of Beshir as requested by ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo.
"No position has been taken by the Security Council on the question of whether to take any action in the light of the (Moreno-Ocampo) proposal to indict President Beshir," Sawers said. "That issue is to be addressed on another day."
"The United States abstained in the vote because language added to the resolution would send the wrong signal to Sudanese President Beshir and undermine efforts to bring him and others to justice," Alejandro Wolff, the deputy US ambassador to the UN, said.
"There is no compromise on the issue of justice," he added, after dismissing suggestions that the US delegation had given its consent to the compromise language referring to the July 21 AU communique.
Wolff however stressed that Washington "strongly supports the extension of UNAMID's mandate".
Hailed by China
China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya hailed the adoption of this "important resolution", which provided the "basic guarantee for the success" of what will be the United Nations' largest peacekeeping operation.
Moreno-Ocampo has demanded Beshir's arrest for allegedly ordering his forces to annihilate three ethnic groups in Darfur, masterminding murder, torture, pillaging and using rape to commit genocide.
Wang described Moreno-Ocampo's demand as "an inappropriate decision at an inappropriate time".
His Russian counterpart Vitaly Churkin made a similar point, noting that two thirds of the UN membership, including the AU, the Arab League and the nonaligned movement, favoured the proposal for a one-year deferral of any Beshir indictment.
He expressed fears that hardline Darfur rebels might use Moreno-Ocampo's move to "take advantage of the situation and step up their campaign" against the Khartoum government.
Sudan's UN Ambassador Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad expressed gratitude to those council members who backed the text and had high praise for the British delegation.
France's deputy ambassador Jean-Pierre Lacroix said the council expected "Khartoum's co-operation in promoting progress in the political process and its full cooperation with the ICC".
End to violence demanded
The British resolution also demands an end to violence by all parties in Darfur, urges UN member states to provide crucial transport helicopters and logistical units to UNAMID and welcomed Ban's intention to deploy 80% of the force by the end of December.
Only a third of UNAMID's mandated strength of 26 000 personnel have deployed. The mission says it needs 24 transport and attack helicopters to protect civilians adequately.
The United Nations says that up to 300 000 people have died and more than 2.2 million have fled their homes since the conflict in Darfur erupted in February 2003. Sudan says 10 000 have been killed.
- AFP