UN rights body extends Darfur mission by six months

June 20, 2007 (GENEVA) — The United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday decided to extend the work of its experts present in the strife-torn Sudanese western region of Darfur for a further six months.

The decision was adopted by consensus and under its terms the experts will submit an update to the council in September, and a final report to the following session.

In a report to the council last week, the seven experts highlighted “the seriousness of ongoing violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Darfur as well as the lack of accountability of perpetrators of such crimes.”

They urged the council to adopt more than 30 detailed “recommendations” or targets that Sudan should meet — including clear orders to stop attacks on civilians, disarming militia and full cooperation with the International Criminal Court — in the short term (three months) and the mid term.

They also included indicators — such as the numbers of attacks in Darfur or the number of people handed over to the ICC — that would allow an assessment of progress, and a list of practical assistance or equipment Khartoum would need to carry out the recommendations.

The group led by Simi Samar, the UN special rapporteur on Sudan, was set up by the Human Rights Council in March, following a report by Nobel laureate and anti-landmines campaigner Jody Williams which sharply criticised Sudan’s role in human rights abuses in Darfur.

Williams and her team concluded that Sudan’s government had “orchestrated and participated in” war crimes and human rights abuses such as rape and torture across the region.

The UN estimates that more than 200,000 people have died and more than two million displaced in the past four years in Darfur.

(AFP)