US ready to make changes to UN resolution on Sudan: Armitage

OSLO, Sept 13 (AFP) — The United States is willing to make changes to its draft resolution on Sudan after objections were voiced in the United Nations Security Council, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said on Monday.

But Washington insists on having an “as strong a resolution as possible”, he stressed during a visit to Oslo.

“Generally, as we move through the UN Security Council process with a resolution, whether we put in the resolution or another country, there are modifications and I do expect some modifications,” he told reporters.

The US formally presented a draft resolution to the Security Council on Thursday, pressing the Sudanese government to rein in Arab militias accused of being primarily responsible for the bloodshed in Darfur, where an estimated 50,000 people have died in 19 months of warfare.

The resolution is the second proposed since July aimed at stopping the violence which has also forced some 1.4 people to flee their homes.

China led a number of nations that objected to the draft, which calls for a beefed-up African Union force in Darfur and threatens sanctions on Sudan’s oil industry if Khartoum does not disarm and stop the militias.

The US has said the killing amounts to genocide — a claim rejected by the Sudanese government — and included in the draft a call for an international commission of inquiry into the slaughter.

Washington has solid support from Germany and Britain, and needs nine votes to pass the resolution if no permanent council member imposes its veto.

But Russia and China, which both have veto rights, as well as Pakistan and Algeria have expressed unhappiness with the draft.

“We want as strong a resolution as possible, obviously. But the resolution won’t be as strong as the draft,” Armitage said following his talks with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen.

The Security Council is expected to make a decision on the resolution this week.