UN envoy calls Darfur crisis probable war crime

By Evelyn Leopold

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 30 (Reuters) – A U.N. envoy told the Security Council on Thursday that war crimes had probably taken place on “a large and systematic scale” amid a continuing general state of lawlessness in Sudan’s Darfur region.

Juan Mendez, the special advisor of the prevention of genocide, was speaking after a mission to Sudan with Louise Arbour, U.N. high commissioner for human rights, to see how further abuses could be avoided. About 50,000 people have died and 1.2 million have been uprooted in the conflict.

“The high commissioner and I can conclude, firstly, that crimes against humanity, war crimes and breaches of the laws of war have probably occurred on a large and systematic scale,” Mendez told council members, according to his text.

“Secondly, we do not believe that we have turned the corner on preventing further violations and we must remain vigilant to this end,” he told a closed-door council session.

Mendez said government measures to stop abuses against African villagers, particularly by Arab militia known as Janjaweed, who work in conjunction with Sudanese forces, were either “inadequate or inept.”

Arbour, in her address said the government conveyed no sense of urgency nor an acknowledgment “of the magnitude of the human rights crisis in Darfur.” Instead it laid the blame on an inter-tribal conflict and actions taken by African rebels who had started a low-level uprising 19 months ago.

But she said she received no reports of rebels attacking civilians as the Janjaweed had done, although the rebels had attacked Sudanese police.

She said there had been wide-spread rape and that the government commissions and police meant to stop it were ineffective. In one case police accused the victims of rape of making up stories even though hospitals confirmed their case.

She told reporters that international police and observers should accompany Sudanese police.