EU calls on Sudan to allow UN rights team into Darfur
Feb 12, 2007 (BRUSSELS) — European Union foreign ministers Monday called on Sudan to allow a U.N. fact-finding team into the country, saying its mission to investigate the reported rape and killing of civilians in Darfur was crucial.
Sudan’s government said Sunday that several issues remained to be settled before it will permit the six-member team, which was established by the U.N. Human Rights Council, to visit the region.
The 27 E.U. ministers appealed to Khartoum to stop delaying the team’s work.
“The E.U. appreciates the important work of the mission,” the E.U. ministers said in a statement. “It urges the government of Sudan not to prevent the mission from fulfilling its crucial task and to issue the necessary visas as soon as possible.”
The Sudanese government gave no details about what issues still needed to be resolved. Sudanese media have reported the government objected to some members of the delegation and was refusing to issue them visas.
More than 200,000 people have died since fighting broke out between government-backed militia fighters and rebel groups in Darfur in 2003.
The E.U. foreign ministers condemned the recent killing of an African Union mission police officer and the “arrest and abuse” of international aid workers by Sudanese police.
They also appealed to both rebels and Sudanese military forces to respect their cease-fire commitments.
The E.U., the U.N. and the U.S. are increasingly frustrated in efforts to stop the killing in Darfur, which U.S. officials have called genocide.
Violence has worsened since a peace deal was signed last May. The Sudanese government refuses to allow the deployment of a 22,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force to aid an overwhelmed AU force. The larger U.N. force was approved by the Security Council last year.
European diplomats estimate that between 200,000 and 400,000 people have been killed during the conflict.
(AP)