Sudan slams US human rights record citing Iraq
By Wangui Kanina
NAIROBI, May 6 (Reuters) – Blamed by the United Nations and the United States for committing atrocities against its own people, Sudan slammed Washington’s human rights record on Thursday and cited the treatment of Iraqi prisoners.
The U.S. delegation walked out of the U.N. Human Rights Commission on Tuesday following Sudan’s re-election to the U.N.’s main watchdog body, accusing Khartoum of ethnic cleansing in its western Darfur region, a charge Sudan denies.
Sudan has been the target of worldwide criticism over Darfur including an expression of concern from the Geneva-based commission in late April. Khartoum has been accused of backing Arab militia that have been pillaging black African villages in the Darfur region, killing and raping.
“The United States is one of the biggest human rights violators, whether in Iraq or in other parts of the world,” Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters in Nairobi as he arrived for a regional meeting.
“We are not saying there are no human rights violations in Sudan, but we are doing our best (to stop it),” he said.
In the African regional group at the U.N. rights body, which rotates candidacies for commission posts, Sudan, Guinea and Togo — all called undemocratic by rights groups — filled seats on the commission this week. A fourth seat went to Kenya.
The decision by African nations that Sudan would again get a seat on the commission angered rights groups that wanted more liberal democracies to win a place.
Ismail accused the United States of turning a blind eye as its soldiers tortured Iraqi soldiers and criticised Washington for not establishing an independent inquiry into the issue.
“Instead of establishing an independent inquiry to find out about it and to punish the American soldiers for doing this dirty job, they are saying that they are going to do their own investigation,” he said.
The U.S military was investigating claims of prisoner abuse after photos were published showing Iraqis stripped naked and tormented by their U.S. captors at a Baghdad jail.
SUDAN DEAL SIGNING EXPECTED SOON
After meeting with top negotiators to ongoing peace talks in Kenya, Ismail reiterated that he expected a deal to be reached within days between Khartoum and southern rebels to end the country’s 21-year civil war.
Talks have stalled in recent weeks over the disputed oil-rich Abyei region, and the issue of power-sharing. A more recent obstacle has been whether the capital will be under Islamic Sharia laws as per Khartoum’s wishes.
“They are now finalising the three items, they will bring them all together to be signed (as one agreement) in a matter of days, rather than weeks,” Ismail said.