Stronger arms embargo needed in Darfur – experts
April 28, 2006 (NAIROBI) — A panel of United Nations experts has advised the UN Security Council to expand an existing arms embargo to stem the flow of weapons that continue to flood the strife-torn western Sudanese region of Darfur.
The Council imposed an arms embargo on all nongovernment forces in Darfur in July 2004 and expanded the embargo to include government forces in March 2005. However, stricter measures are urgently needed to bring an end to the region’s three-year civil war, said the panel, which was set up to help the committee monitoring the arms embargo.
“The panel concludes that the government of the Sudan continues to violate the arms embargo by transferring equipment and related weapons into Darfur; supplying some militia groups with arms and ammunition; and providing support to militia groups in their attacks against villages and rebel groups,” the experts said in their report.
However, the Sudanese government maintained they were compelled to transfer weapons and additional troops to Darfur in response to the rising tensions between Sudan and Chad.
The panel found that the government of Sudan had failed to take appropriate steps to disarm Janjawid militia groups in areas under its control, as it was required to do under a resolution adopted by the Council in July 2004. In addition, irregular armed groups continued to conduct military operations alongside Sudanese forces. “The panel has found conclusive evidence of operational coordination between elements of the Sudanese armed forces and militia groups associated with tribes that support the government,” the report said.
Although the panel accused both the Sudanese government and the rebels of exacerbating ethnic tensions, it blamed the rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) in particular for exploiting ethnic differences to increase its support base.
“No effective ceasefire exists between the parties in Darfur at the present time,” the report said. “The absence of strong and decisive sanction measures for violations of the ceasefire … has contributed to the ongoing violations, as parties act with relative impunity.”
The report recommended expanding the arms embargo to all of Sudan – with certain exemptions for non-lethal supplies – and to establish stronger verification mechanisms. The panel also proposed establishing a no-fly zone over the entire Darfur region for all government aircraft. Members of the senior leadership of the SLA and the Sudanese government should be designated for targeted financial and travel-related sanctions, the experts said.
On Tuesday, the Council imposed sanctions on the former commander of the western military region for the Sudanese Air Force; an SLA commander; a field commander of another rebel faction, the National Movement for Reform and Development; and a leader of the Janjawid militia. Human rights observers claimed, however, that the sanctions failed to target the masterminds of the atrocities that have occurred in the region during the three-year civil war.
The spokesman of Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Jamal Mohamed Ibrahim, said the decision to impose sanctions on four Sudanese individuals was “regrettable” and inappropriately timed. “The efforts currently being exerted in Abuja [the Nigerian capital where the Darfur peace talks are taking place] have now reached their final stage, and what is needed is supporting them rather than sending negative signals,” he said.
(IRIN)