EU expresses concern about Darfur, will take no action
Dec 15, 2006 (BRUSSELS) — European Union leaders expressed deep concern about Darfur at their summit Friday, but stopped short of taking any action against the Sudanese government for resisting the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers in the volatile western region, according to a draft statement.
The leaders, in a summit statement to be released later Friday, expressed “deep concern about the appalling security, humanitarian and human rights situation in Darfur” – but didn’t take up right groups’ calls for sanctions against the Sudanese government.
Two non-governmental groups, the International Crisis Group and Human Rights Watch, called on leaders to impose sanctions against the leadership in Khartoum.
“With Khartoum having long learned that the global response is all bark and no bite, the situation is again predictably deteriorating and spreading across neighboring borders,” the groups said in a joint statement.
More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million others displaced in nearly four years of spiraling violence in Darfur. An African Union mission of 7,000 troops is stationed in Darfur, but the Sudanese government has opposed letting the U.N. replace the overwhelmed AU force with 20,000 U.N. peacekeepers.
The U.N. and other groups say the Sudanese army and the janjaweed militias coordinate attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians in recent weeks alone. The Sudanese government denies the allegations and blames the janjaweed for the bulk of the looting, raping and killing in Darfur.
E.U. leaders’ draft statement says the bloc “expects the Sudanese authorities to fulfill its responsibility to provide effective protection to all the citizens from all violence and to put an end to impunity in Darfur.”
The Sudanese government has scorned Western threats to use sanctions and no-fly zones to pressure Sudan into accepting U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur, saying harsh measures won’t end the violence there.
(AP)