Sudan hands UN Darfur suspects list

Feb 26, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan on Sunday handed a UN envoy a list of security officials who have been tried over the Darfur conflict, as Khartoum works to convince the world it is equipped to handle such cases at home.

Six Sudanese men stand in the dock in a court in Nyala September 30, 2004, accused of belonging to the Arab militia. (Reuters) .

The UN official in charge of human rights in the Sudan, Sima Samar, was given the list by the head of the governmental Human Rights Advisory Council (HRAC) Abdelmonim Osman Taha, state media said.

The UN official “was on Sunday given by HRAC chairman the list of individuals of the regular services who have been tried for perpetrating crimes connected with the Darfur conflict,” SUNA news agency reported.

There were no details on who the individuals were or what had been the nature of their trials.

The newly created International Criminal Court (ICC) has told the UN Security Council it has enough evidence of killing, rape and destruction in the war-ravaged region to warrant bringing suspects to trial.

But the Sudanese government established its own special court in June to try Darfur criminals and has vehemently maintained its right to handle the case domestically.

Samer was also briefed on “positive” steps taken in the field of countering violence against women, including setting up a unit for fighting violence against women within the ministry of justice, SUNA said.

SUNA said Taha urged Samer to include “the positive steps she has seen” in the report she is to submit to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva next month.

The war in Darfur broke out in February 2003, when indigenous ethnic groups launched a rebellion against Khartoum that was brutally repressed by Arab militia linked to the Islamist regime.

The combined effect of the war and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises has left up to 300,000 people dead and an estimated 2.4 million displaced.

(ST)