Amnesty doubts Sudan sanctions, urges Arab pressure

May 30, 2007 (CAIRO) — Amnesty International said on Wednesday U.S. sanctions alone would do little to stop violence in Sudan’s Darfur region and urged Arab states to press Khartoum to accept a hybrid peacekeeping force.

“The support of the entire international community is needed to have an impact on the Sudanese government,” Amnesty’s Secretary-General Irene Khan told reporters after meetings at the 22-member Arab League.

“We think there needs to be international mobilisation rather than unilateral action at this stage.”

Accusing the Sudanese government of obstructing U.N. efforts to bring peace to Darfur, U.S. President George W. Bush said on Tuesday the U.S. Treasury Department would bar 31 companies controlled by Sudan from doing business in the U.S. financial system.

Khan said Arab states should press Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to accept U.N. packages to support an African Union peacekeeping force of 7,000, which is seen as a prelude to a larger hybrid force of more than 23,000 troops and police.

Bashir has stalled for months to let international peacekeepers into Darfur.

Experts say more than 200,000 people have died and 2 million have been driven from their homes since 2003.

Khartoum says 9,000 have died in Darfur and rejects accusations of genocide. It has criticised the sanctions, saying it was cooperating with the United Nations.

“We are asking the Arab League to continue the process it has opened with the Sudanese government to ensure early deployment of international peacekeepers,” Khan said. “There is still some way to go to see the U.N. and African force on the ground and we would like to see that happen quickly.”

(Reuters)