‘Genocide’ continues in Darfur – Rice
Feb 16, 2006 (WASHINGTON) – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday “genocide” was continuing in Sudan’s Darfur region, but moves to bolster security with a UN force were held up pending a request from the African Union.
Rice said she was “very concerned” about the situation in Darfur, where up to 300,000 people have died in three years of fighting pitting government forces and their militia allies against local rebels.
“On Darfur, our policy is unchanged. It is our view that genocide was committed and in fact continues in Darfur,” Rice said in testimony before the House International Relations Committee.
Her comments appeared to be a new US turn on whether Khartoum was guilty of genocide, a legal term that could trigger obligations under international conventions, including the possible use of force to stop it.
Rice’s predecessor Colin Powell accused Sudan’s government of genocide in September 2004. But two weeks ago, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer backed away from the designation.
Frazer told reporters the current situation in Darfur “is very different than it was. It’s not as systematic. … It’s a series of small attacks and incidents.”
US officials have pressed for moves to bolster the beleagured and financially-strapped 7,000-strong African Union force in Darfur by making it the core of a more-robust UN peacekeeping mission.
Washington had set a goal of using its presidency of the UN Security Council this month to push through a resolution setting out the size and terms of a UN force for Darfur.
But Rice said, “The holdup right now is that the African Union has not requested it and people are resistant or reluctant to do so without African Union backing given that they are still going to be the dominant part of the force.
“We’re working very closely with the AU to try to get this resolved because we would like to use our (Security Council) presidency to highlight the Darfur issue.”
The Security Council earlier this month approved contingency planning for UN peacekeepers to take over from the AU force in Darfur.
But despite strong pressure from Western governments, Khartoum has so far remained hostile to the deployment of UN troops there.
(AFP/ST)