HRW urges UN sanctions on Sudan officials

NEW YORK, July 6 (AFP) — A leading rights group on Tuesday urged the UN Security Council to slap sanctions on Sudanese officials and government-backed militias, among other measures to protect civilians in the violence-wracked Darfur region.

On the eve of a council meeting on Sudan, Human Rights Watch’s Sudan researcher Jemera Rone said the world body must “be prepared to intervene with more muscle.”

A draft resolution proposed by the United States calls on the Sudanese government to disarm the Janjaweed militias and imposes travel and arms sanctions on militia members.

“Sudanese government officials should also be subject to travel and arms sanctions,” Rone said in a statement.

“The Janjaweed are not an independent body, but a tool created by the Sudanese government. The Security Council must place the responsibility for the crimes against humanity and humanitarian disaster squarely with the Sudanese government.”

In a letter to the council, Human Rights Watch said an international commission of inquiry should investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.

The watchdog also called for African Union and human rights monitors to actively look for ceasefire violations.

Human Rights Watch considers civilians in Darfur the victims of ethnic cleansing, and said the council should explicitly seek the safe and voluntary return of people forced to flee their homes.

Top UN officials have described the situation in Darfur, where a rebel uprising in February 2003 prompted a vicious response from government forces and allied militias, as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in the region, over a million displaced, and a potential major famine provoked.