US eyes Saturday vote for UN resolution on Darfur
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 16 (AFP) — The United States said it now expected a vote on Saturday on its draft UN resolution pressing Sudan over the crisis in Darfur, with the UN Security Council still at odds over the measure.
Washington had been hoping for a vote on Friday but a new revision to the measure, which threatens sanctions against Sudan’s oil industry if Khartoum does not do more to stop the bloodshed, still met council opposition Thursday.
“My best guess is the vote will probably come Saturday,” US ambassador John Danforth said after the council talked over the latest draft, the third revision to the US proposal.
“There were some discussions as to further changes people wanted to make so we’ll consider those. But I think basically we’re where we were before,” Danforth told reporters.
He said the United States was expecting “at least” nine votes in favour of the measure — the minimum number needed to pass a resolution as long as none of the five permanent members decides to veto.
But after a similar resolution on Sudan passed the council in July 13-0, a smaller number this timr around would send the wrong message to Sudan, a council diplomat said.
The resolution would call on Sudan to disarm and clamp down on the Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, blamed for a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against the largely black African natives of the vast western Darfur region.
It also calls for an expanded presence of African Union monitors in the region and asks the United Nations to establish a commission of enquiry to determine if genocide has occurred.
At least 50,000 people are estimated to have died and some 1.4 millon others have been displaced.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Thursday said that the bloodshed was continuing and that he wanted the Security Council to take immediate action.
China has threatened a veto but Chinese ambassador Wang Guangya said he was hoping to see another version of the text from the United States.
“They say they will be open-minded and so I hope they will continue to be open-minded,” Wang said. “Otherwise this one would be difficult for us.”
Several nations have expressed concern that the sanctions threat on Khartoum might only lead to making the government uncooperative with the international community over the crisis.
“We don’t think the balance is right yet,” said Pakistan’s ambassador Munir Akram. “Pressure, yes — but pressure calibrated to get the right results and not pressure which could become counterproductive.”