Sudan says it will take steps to disarm Janjaweed militia
KHARTOUM, July 3 (AFP) — Sudan will take immediate steps to disarm the state-sponored Arab militias accused of sparking a humanitarian crisis in the western region of Darfur, according to a statement issued jointly with the United Nations.
The statement, made public Saturday as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan ended a visit to the country, said the Sudanese government commits itself to “immediately start to disarm the Janjaweed and other armed outlaw groups.”
The undertaking had been Annan’s key demand in talks with President Omar al-Beshir late Friday after the UN chief saw the human impact of the crisis first-hand in visits to Darfur and refugee camps in neighbouring Chad.
“The violence must stop … The Janjawid must be disarmed,” he told a press conference after the meeting.
In the joint statement, the Sudanese government also undertook to “allow the deployment of human rights monitors” and “ensure that all individuals and groups accused of human rights violations are brought to justice without delay.”
Washington has already drawn up draft sanctions targeting named Janjaweed leaders accused of orchestrating a “reign of terror” in Darfur, which has seen at least 10,000 people die and more than a million driven from their homes since ethnic minority rebels launched an uprising early last year.
In particular, Khartoum undertook to “establish a fair system, respectful of local traditions, that will allow abused women to bring charges against alleged perpetrators.”
Rights groups say rape has been used routinely by the Arab militias against ethnic minority villages in Darfur suspected of supporting the rebels.
The joint statement expressed alarm at the “number and severity of the condition of the internally displaced in Darfur and refugees in Chad which, if not addressed with urgency, may deteriorate to catastrophic levels.”
The Sudanese government undertook to “ensure that no militias are present in all areas surrounding internally displaced persons (IDP) camps”.
It also pledged to “deploy a strong, credible and respected police force in all IDP areas as well as areas susceptible to attacks.”
It undertook to “train all police units in human rights law and hold them responsible for upholding.”
Khartoum committed itself to a resumption of political talks with the two rebel factions — the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement — and “welcomes the international community’s tole in assisting the implementation of an eventual peace agreement.”
The African Union announced separately Friday evening that the talks would resume in Addis Ababa on July 15.
The United Nations pledged to “assist in the quick deployment of African Union ceasefire monitors” to oversee a truce orginally inked on April 8 and to “stand ready to contine to help in the mediation.
The two sides agreed to set up a Joint Implementation Mechanism to oversee the implementation of their undertakings, headed on the Sudanese side by Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail and on the UN side by Annan’s special representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk.
Annan’s talks here followed mounting international pressure on Khartoum over the crisis in Darfur, with aid groups warning of a protential catastrophe if aid is not delivered to the region before the rainy season sets in this month.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell visited Khartoum earlier this week with a blunt warning to Sudanese leaders that they risked UN sanctions if they did not take “action now” on Darfur.
“Unless we see more moves soon in all these areas, it may be necessary for the international community to begin considering other actions, to include Security Council action,” Powell told a joint press conference with his Sudanese counterpart.