No veto power to Sudan over UN resolution – US envoy
July 24, 2007 (UNITED NATIONS) — The Sudanese government should not have veto power over the proposed Security Council resolution mandating joint African Union-UN peacekeeping in Darfur, the US envoy to Sudan said here Tuesday.
“The Sudanese government should not have veto power over what happens,” Andrew Natsios told reporters after talks with UN chief Ban Ki-moon and UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno.
“They (Khartoum) have made an agreement with Ban Ki-moon,” he noted. “What’s important now is that we hold the Sudanese government for what they agreed to.”
Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir gave his unconditional approval for the deployment of the joint AU-UN force last June.
The UN Security Council is now mulling a Western draft resolution that would mandate the speedy deployment of a 26,000-strong joint AU-UN force “for an initial period of 12 months” to take over peacekeeping from 7,000 underfunded and ill-equipped AU troops in Darfur.
“Once this resolution is through the Sudanese government needs to” cooperate, Natsios said.
He added that the joint force should have a clear mandate to disarm fighters on both sides, protect the humanitarian aid effort and the internally displaced people who have been subjected to attacks.
“Unless heavy weapons are taken away from both the rebels and the militias aligned with the government, this war will not end. That will have to be part of any agreement,” Natsios said.
“The rebels have told me they are not giving their weapons to the Sudanese government. They will give them to the United Nations.”
He also made it clear that it would be unwise for the United States to send troops to Darfur.
“I would strongly oppose any use of military force by the United States simply because politically right now in Darfur it would create the wrong impression,” he said.
“It’s not wise just for the symbolism of it, the United States being the tough guy in this. We were the only ones who imposed unilateral sanctions on the Sudanese government.”
According to UN estimates, at least 200,000 people have died from the combined effect of war and famine since the conflict in the western Sudanese region of Darfur erupted in February 2003.
(AFP)