United Nations human rights forum avoids harsh critique of Sudan’s Darfur conflict
By Deborah Haynes
GENEVA, April 23 (AFP) — Sudan escaped heavy criticism at the United Nations’ top human rights forum as countries adopted a softly worded text on atrocities allegedly committed in the western Darfur region.
The decision enraged the United States which failed to push through a second vote for a stronger response to reports of attacks by Sudanese troops and Arab militias on black African civilians, in what could constitute war crimes.
And it drew anger from the Americans and advocacy groups, which accused the UN’s Commission on Human Rights of failing to condemn the “ethnic cleansing” in the region.
As a UN team travelled to Darfur to probe what is described as the world’s worst ongoing humanitarian disaster and the warring sides began delayed peace talks in the neighbouring capital of Chad, 50 countries approved the mildly-worded decision on the last day of the Commission’s six-week session.
Washington rejected the text, drawn up as a compromise between the European Union and a bloc of African nations, and there were two abstentions.
Refusing to be beaten, the United States demanded a special session of the assembly once the UN mission returns to hear the results of its investigation.
“An acceptable commission product must condemn this ethnic cleansing, must hold accountable those engaged in these deplorable acts,” Richard Williamson, head of the US delegation, told the assembly earlier.
“Ten years from now all that will be remembered about this commission is what we do on this issue,” he declared.
Since erupting in February 2003, the Darfur war has displaced about one million people within Sudan and forced more than 100,000 others to flee to neighbouring Chad, according to UN estimates.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, speaking to the human rights commission earlier this month, urged the international community to consider decisive measures, including military action, if oil-rich Sudan fails to allow swift aid and human rights workers into the area.
The “weak” decision adopted by the Commission reflected a compromise that all sides could accept, diplomats said.
“Today the Commission had to take the most difficult decision during its 60th session,” Germany’s ambassador Michael Steiner told the forum.
“We just adopted a text .. it does not reflect all of our concerns. It contains weak language concerning the situation on the ground,” he admitted.
But Steiner added: “Although far from being perfect in language, the text adopted contains the most important element, that is to call for action.”
The decision requests the appointment of a special human rights envoy to Sudan who will report to the commission in one year and it encouraged the government to promote human rights protection under international law.
A draft resolution originally introduced by the European Union and co-sponsored by the United States, however, gave the Khartoum government a long list of challenges to stop the attacks against civilians which have led to “the forced depopulation” of entire areas.
“We do not believe the… text of the current decision is in any way adequate to reflect the seriousness of this situation,” said Peter Heyward, the head of the Australian delegation, which abstained from voting.
But Congo’s top diplomat, Roger Julien Menga, speaking on behalf of the African group, said the text provided the only chance to monitor the situation.
Its approval would “allow us today to leave this room with our conscience eased knowing that we have done what we could as a Commission,” he said.
Loubna Freih, a spokeswoman for Human Rights Watch — which said Thursday it had documented dozens of cases in which Sudanese government troops assisted human rights violations by the militias — expressed shock at the outcome.
“The commission’s failure to condemn the crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing in Darfur is a totally inappropriate response,” she told AFP.
The resolution showed “that this body is still dangerously prone to obstructions by abusive member states like Sudan, the organization said in a separate statement.