US, EU leaders threaten sanctions against Sudan and Darfur rebels
June 10, 2008 (BRDO) – The leaders of the US and European Union (EU) issued a joint statement after a summit in Slovenia on Tuesday saying that they will work together towards bringing peace to Darfur.
The statement also voiced support to the work of the UN and African Union (AU) mediators in Darfur. The UN mediator Jan Eliasson and his AU counterpart Salim Ahmed Salim have failed to produce a breakthrough in bringing the warring parties together.
The mediators’ efforts were further complicated as a result of the attack by Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) on the Sudanese capital last month. As a result Khartoum said it will not negotiate with JEM in any future peace talks with rebel groups.
The US and EU also said that that promoting the Darfur peace process will be in the context of “full compliance with UNSCR 1593 [referring Darfur war crimes to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and UNSCR 1769 [authorizing UN-AU peacekeepers in Darfur]”.
The statement represents a dramatic shift in the position of the US administration which remained hostile to the ICC. Washington had threatened to veto resolution 1593 adopted in March 2005 but eventually bent down to domestic and international pressure and abstained from voting.
The US has recently showed signs of warming up to the court despite its long standing fears that it may be used to bring frivolous cases against its troops.
Following a briefing by the ICC prosecutor at the UN Security Council last week, the US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said in a statement that his government “strongly believes that those responsible for the acts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur must be held accountable and be brought to justice”.
International experts also say more than 300,000 were killed and 2 million have been driven from their homes by the conflict in Darfur, a region that is roughly the size of France.
(ST)