Sudanese government failing in Darfur: report
By JANE WARDELL, Associated Press Writer
LONDON, Aug 11, 2004 (Ap) — Sudan’s government is breaking its pledge to improve security for its citizens in the embattled Darfur region by legitimizing militia groups and barring international aid, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.
The report, “Empty Promises: Continuing Abuses in Darfur, Sudan,” said Sudanese armed forces and the government-backed Arab Janjaweed militias in Darfur continue to attack men, rape women and steal livestock with impunity.
“The Sudanese government insists that it is taking significant measures, but the continuing atrocities in Darfur prove that Khartoum’s claims simply aren’t credible,” said Peter Takirambudde, executive director for Human Rights Watch’s Africa Division.
“If the government were serious about wanting to protect civilians, it would welcome a greater international presence,” he added.
But Sudan’s ambassador to London, Hasan Abdin, insisted his government was taking action against the Janjaweed.
“My government has promised to finish the job which it started a few weeks ago on disarming the Janjaweed. Practical steps have been taken already,” he told Channel 4 TV on Tuesday, before publication of the Human Rights Watch report.
The United Nations has described the 18-month conflict in the sprawling, arid region of Darfur as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Pro-government Arab militia have waged a counterinsurgency campaign that has seen widespread destruction of villages and the displacement of about 1 million people. Some 30,000 people have been killed.
Fighting is continuing between government forces with their allied Janjaweed militias and the two rebel groups in Darfur _ the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement.
A U.N. Security Council resolution on July 30 demanded that the Sudanese government take steps to improve security, human rights and humanitarian assistance in Darfur and speed up a political resolution of the conflict. It also imposed a deadline of Aug. 30 for the disarmament of the Janjaweed militia.
“The government has already been delivering on some of the promises it made, even before the last decision of the Security Council,” Abdin told Channel 4.
“There is no bombing now. The bombing has stopped long ago, after the signing of the ceasefire last April the Sudan government observed the ceasefire.”
“Within 30 days there will be a great deal of improvement in terms of securing the (refugee) camps, and the roads leading to the camps. This is a voluntary return.”
However, the Human Rights Watch report said the Sudanese government appears to be backtracking on the timeline set by the Security Council resolution and is instead beginning to incorporate the Janjaweed into the official police and other security forces.
“Incorporating the Janjaweed militias into the security services and then deploying them to protect civilian ‘safe areas’ is the height of absurdity,” said Takirambudde. “The Sudanese government needs to bring war criminals to justice, not recruit them into positions of responsibility.”
The document added that claims by the government it is ending impunity through trials of Janjaweed militia are belied by growing reports that most of those convicted are petty criminals.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said he could not confirm the allegations in the report.
“Obviously, reports that individuals are being punished or harassed for speaking out about conditions in Darfur are of serious concern,” he said.
Ereli added that the United States is following up on the report.
Human Rights Watch said an increased international presence on the ground is urgently needed to improve the protection of civilians, assess the government’s actions and stabilize the region.
It gave its support to measures by the African Union to increase is small cease-fire monitoring force from 300 to more than 2,000 troops. The Sudanese government rejected the African Union’s proposal on Sunday.
“Key countries and regional groups, such as the African Union and the Arab League, should persuade Khartoum that it needs to accept international support to protect civilians and stabilize the region,” said Takirambudde.
The report said the U.N. and the European Union should provide the logistical and financial support to expand the African Union force.
The report backs up claims Monday by an EU military-civilian team that visited Darfur last week that atrocities are being committed on a large scale.
The U.S. Congress and some humanitarian groups have accused the Sudanese government of genocide. The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has held off on making a judgment and the European Union said such a decision would be up to U.N. experts.
The U.N. Security Council is expected to consider at the end of the month whether to impose sanctions on Sudan.