UN may need to mull new Sudan sanctions over Darfur force – US

December 3, 2007 (NEW YORK) — The U.N. Security Council may need to meet “within weeks” to consider new sanctions on Sudan unless Khartoum quickly accepts a U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, a top U.S. diplomat said on Monday.

The council decided unanimously in July to send peacekeepers to stem the violence in Darfur where some 200,000 people have died in 4-1/2 years. Now Sudan was throwing up obstacles and failing to meet its commitments, said Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

“The Security Council’s credibility is on the line,” he told a conference on Darfur at New York’s Columbia University.

“If there’s no cooperation, the Security Council will need to reconvene to discuss the issue of what to do to bring about compliance.”

He said the international community should be “unrelenting” in putting pressure on the Sudanese government, which has agreed in principle to the 26,000-strong force.

“If the Sudanese government fails to meet its obligations (the Security Council) should be willing to respond by increasing pressure and consider imposing sanctions.”

Asked by Reuters after the speech how soon he thought the 15-member council would need to reconvene to take such action, Khalilzad said “within weeks.”

He said that meant before the end of the year, when the UN-AU force is due to take over command from an existing AU force.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno said last week problems raised by Sudan included objections to some non-African units in the force, failure to provide land, curbs on helicopter flights and a quest for a highly restrictive status of forces pact.

Sudan responded by denying it was causing problems and blaming the United Nations for delays in deploying the force.

(Reuters)