Sudanese refugees protest ‘weak’ UN resolution

NAIROBI, Nov 19 (AFP) — A few dozen Sudanese refugees protested outside the UN compound in Nairobi on Friday against a “weak” Security Council resolution which stopped short of threatening sanctions against Khartoum if it fails to halt human rights violations in Darfur.

Sudanese refugees in Kenya demonstrate outside the U.N. compound during the Security Council meeting in Nairobi November 18, 2004.(Reuters).

Armed with banners calling for peace in Sudan, the demonstrators, who included children as young as seven, sang religious songs imploring God not to forsake them.
“I am a child today and a hero tomorrow,” “we want to go back home now,” “we have come to demand peace now,” “we have nowhere to call home,” read some of the placards they carried.

On Friday the Security Council, meeting in Nairobi, unanimously adopted a resolution urging Sudan’s warring parties to make peace and linking future massive development aid to the signing of a comprehensive accord between Khartoum and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).

“That was a terribly weak resolution,” protested John Lasu, one of the demonsratrators.

“It will do nothing to (make) Khartoum heed the international cry to stop fighting in Darfur,” Lasu added.

Friday’s resolution softened previous threats to take punitive action against Khartoum if it failed to halt massive human rights abuses in Darfur, a western region in the throes of conflict since February 2003.

The war is separate to another conflict between the government and the SPLM/A which erupted in 1983.

“What Khartoum needs is tough sanctions like those that were imposed on Iraq. They need trade sanctions, arms sanctions and any other that may threaten to weaken that government,” said demonstrator Emmanuel Deng.

Kenyan paramilitary police and UN security guards were on hand on the fringes of the demonstration.