Sudan seeks to end the mandate of human rights investigator
September 16, 2008 (GENEVA) — Sudan has called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to not renew the mandate of the current special investigator on Sudan, Sima Samar which expires in December.
The move by Sudan is the latest in a series of attempts to block any criticism of its actions in Darfur, where up to 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million chased from their homes since the conflict began in 2003.
Abdel Daiem Zumrawi, under-secretary in the Sudanese Ministry of Justice, asked the U.N. Human Rights Council to not renew its mandate saying Samar had failed to condemn “terrorist attacks” by rebel groups.
The Sudanese official further said that other mechanisms exist” to protect human rights. Some 180 human rights monitors were deployed throughout Sudan, and the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights was also issuing regular reports, he said
The African and the Islamic groups backed the Sudanese move. The Egyptian representative supported Khartoum request immediately on behalf of the African Group, while the Pakistani delegate spoke in favour of the demand for the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
Samar, a former deputy prime minister of Afghanistan, has served as U.N. human rights rapporteur for Sudan since 2005. Last December she faced the adversity from the two groups which failed to end her mandate. But, Sudan, en return, persuaded the U.N. council to ignore a high-level report from a commission chaired by American Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jody Williams.
In a report, released on September 9, Samar said the situation in Darfur remained grim with killings of civilians by both government and rebel forces, and arbitrary arrests and torture.
Samar highlighted “indiscriminate” and “disproportionate” bombing of civilians by Sudanese forces in the east of Darfur, as well as ongoing sexual violence and a wave of arbitrary arrests and disappearances.
France submitted a draft resolution on Tuesday on behalf of the European Union (EU) calling for the Council to renew Samar’s mandate for another year. Samar, on her part, expressed hope that its mandate would be extended for another year.
The EU resolution voices concern at arbitrary arrests and detention, “exacerbated restrictions on freedom of expression, association, assembly and movement across the country, and lack of justice and accountability for serious crimes”.
The former Sudanese chargé d’affairs in Washington who is newly appointed in Geneva, John Ukec Lueth Ukec, slammed the rebel groups for the attack on civilians. He said that the rebels are to blame.” “The problem is that these rebels put themselves with the civilians. When I was a rebel, I always stayed 50 kilometers (30 miles) from any civilians.”
The Sudanese Ambassador vowed that his government would continue to attack the non signatory groups. He was particularly vocal against the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)
“The international community should be vigilant and understand what counterinsurgency is,” Ukec said.
“We have not signed a peace agreement with the JEM. We must pre-empt them. Why should be we be sitting down and getting shot all the time?”
(ST)