US: Arab opposition to Darfur sanctions threat does not blunt resolve
WASHINGTON, Aug 9 (AFP) — The United States said Monday that the Arab League’s rejection of the threat of UN sanctions on Sudan if it does not act to ease the crisis in Darfur did not diminish international resolve to pressure Khartoum into acting.
The State Department said all elements of UN Security Council resolution 1556, which threatens Sudan with penalties unless there are vast improvements in Darfur by the end of the month, remained in place and active.
“Nothing has been said or done to attenuate the requirements of Resolution 1556,” deputy spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters when asked if Washington was concerned about the Arab League stance, taken this weekend at a foreign ministers meeting in Cairo.
“1556 remains … the operative instrument in dealing with this issue and so if you’re asking whether somehow what was agreed to at the UN has changed or decreased in significance, the answer is no,” he said.
At the same time, Ereli stressed that the United States, along with the other 14 members of the Security Council, the European Union, the Arab League and others, wanted to see the Darfur crisis ended without resorting to sanctions.
“We’d all prefer for sanctions not to be necessary … so let’s all work toward a resolution of this problem that doesn’t require sanctions,” he said.
On Sunday, the Arab League foreign ministers rejected the threat of sanctions against Khartoum, opposed any Western military intervention but also pinned some blame for the crisis on the Sudanese government and gave their backing to African Union (AU) efforts to defuse the situation.
The AU has said it could deploy up to 2,000 troops in Darfur, but Sudan’s Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail has ruled out the observer mission being turned into a peacekeeping force.
In Khartoum, state-run media reported Monday that the government had approved an action plan drawn up by Ismail and UN envoy Jan Pronk for restoring peace in Darfur by setting up safe areas.
Ereli said the United States viewed this development as “a good start,” but he quickly added that the plan needed to be implemented.
“Obviously, much will depend on what concrete actions come out of it,” he said.
Ereli also said that peace talks between the Sudanese government and the two rebel movements fighting in the western region to be held in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, on August 23 was “an important development.”
Up to 50,000 people have reportedly died and around 1.2 million have been displaced in Darfur, while around 200,000 refugees have fled across the border to neighboring Chad.