HRW calls UN resolution on Darfur a “historic failure”

DAKAR, Senegal, Sep 20, 2004 (PANA) — The UN Security Council’s new resolution on Sudan fails to provide protection for endangered civilians in the country’s western Darfur region, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has charged.

The New York-based rights group criticised the resolution
for failing to impose sanctions on the Sudanese government
and for insufficiently expanding the international
presence in Darfur to ensure the population’s security.

“The Security Council will be judged harshly by history.
The resolution on Darfur is a pitiful response to ongoing
murder, rape and ethnic cleansing,” declared Peter
Takirambudde, executive director of Human Rights Watch’s
Africa Division.

HRW said in a release, that “despite overwhelming evidence
of the Sudanese government’s direct and indirect
participation in the killings and the violent displacement
of hundreds of thousands of civilians, and its repeated
failure to disarm the Janjaweed militia, the Security
Council’s response fell far short of what is needed to
end the atrocities in Darfur.”

It said the Council should have imposed an oil embargo
on the Sudanese government rather than just threaten to
take action ‘to affect Sudan’s petroleum sector and the
Government of Sudan or individual members of the Government
of Sudan’ in the event of further non-compliance with
Security Council demands.

By failing to impose an oil embargo on Sudan, the Security
Council has ensured that the Sudanese government will have
the resources necessary to continue its scorched-earth
campaign in Darfur, the rights group said.

It said the Council also should have imposed an expanded
arms embargo on the Sudanese government.

By not expanding the arms embargo to include the government
of Sudan, the Security Council “has permitted the continued
flow of arms to forces committing widespread atrocities,”
HRW said.

The latest Security Council resolution approved the
deployment of an expanded African Union monitoring force,
but HRW said, “it remains an insufficient international
presence to ensure the protection of civilians.”

The resolution also approved the establishment of an
international commission of inquiry to establish
accountability for human rights violations that have
taken place.

“Although the expanded monitoring force and the international
commission of inquiry represent a step forward, the Security
Council’s response is more notable for what it did not do,”
said Takirambudde. “Most critically, the Security Council
failed to name the Sudanese government as clearly responsible
for continuing atrocities in Darfur.”

The weekend resolution was passed with 11 votes and four
abstentions.

HRW was particularly critical of Algeria, China, Pakistan
and Russia, that “refused to support this lukewarm
resolution.”

“It is inconceivable that while Darfur continues to burn,
these four States can afford the luxury of abstaining even
on this toothless resolution,” charged Takirambudde.