UN Council divided on sanctions in Sudan’s Darfur

By Evelyn Leopold

UNITED NATIONS, July 9 (Reuters) – U.N. Security Council members struggled on Friday over whether to impose sanctions on militia leaders sowing death in Darfur, with some opposed and Europeans suggesting an arms embargo on all of Sudan.

At initial talks on a U.S.-drafted resolution on Thursday and Friday, Pakistan, Algeria, Brazil and others were wary of any embargoes, arguing it would be more helpful to get Khartoum’s cooperation, participants in the meeting said.

Russia and China also had doubts, although council members said their positions were softening somewhat.

At the same time Britain, France and Germany wanted the 15-member council to ready a resolution that would ban arms in all of Sudan, not just Darfur, if Khartoum made no progress in stopping the atrocities.

The draft resolution would impose an arms and travel ban on militia leaders, called Janjaweed, who U.S. officials say have considerable wealth. It would give the Sudan government 30 days to implement pledges before it too faces possible sanctions.

The United States is considering proposals, with U.S. representative Stuart Holliday saying it was too premature to “access the status of the resolution.”

“The focus is on the government of Sudan’s actions on the ground. That is the number one focus of the U.S. government,” he told Reuters.

SUDAN PROTESTS

In Khartoum, Sudan’s Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail warned the United States and Britain against imposing sanctions, according to the official Sudan news agency.

“The American and British voices that call for the imposition of sanctions on Sudan are those that dragged the world into the Iraq problem,” he said.

With support from Sudan’s military, the Janjaweed, are accused of burning villages, kidnapping and enslaving children, contaminating water sources, systematically raping women and uprooting 1 million black African villagers.

Some 10,000 to 30,000 people are estimated to have died in Darfur so far. At least a million people were forced out of their villages into barren camps, desperate for food, and more than 150,000 Darfur refugees have fled to neighboring Chad, U.N. officials say.

In an agreement with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan last week, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir promised to disarm militias, send police to Darfur to protect civilians, begin political talks with rebels and provide access for international aid agencies.

But as public opinion mounts at the crisis in Darfur, some diplomats believe the United States should just call a vote next week and dare nations to block the resolution.

Others say an analysis by Annan and other U.N. officials monitoring Darfur would be crucial to council members.

“We have a responsibility in the Security Council to safeguard human lives,” said Chilean Ambassador Heraldo Munoz. “We think that considering a draft resolution like the U.S. has presented is timely. We don’t have any qualms about it.”

But Brazilian ambassador, Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg, was more hesitant. He said the issue was not sanctions but finding an “adequate mix” between keeping up the pressure on Sudan and encouraging Khartoum to comply.