Sudan’s ruling party urges government to reject UN resolution

KHARTOUM, April 1 (AFP) — Sudan’s ruling party called on the government to reject in its entirety a UN Security Council resolution referring individuals accused of war crimes in Darfur to the International Criminal Court.

The National Congress “calls on the government and all its institutions to strongly resist this unjust resolution,” said a party statement read by Information Minister Abdul Basit Sebdarat.

It added the resolution was devoid of “any basis for justice and objectivity and violates the principle of national sovereignty.”

The party “strongly denounces and totally rejects the Security Council’s stances and its successive resolutions … against Sudan,” it continued, recommending that the government also reject it in its entirety.

Such resolutions “send a wrong signal to rebel forces and outlaws,” claimed the party, adding that they encouraged the rebels to reject “all initiatives leading to a peaceful and comprehensive settlement to the problem.”

The statement said the resolution adopted Thursday ignored efforts being exerted by the government to address the situation in Darfur, where some 300,000 people have died in more than two years of conflict.

It argued that the resolution also undermined efforts by the African Union to broker a negotiated settlement to the conflict between the government and ethnic minority rebels.

Earlier, the Sudanese government criticized the resolution, passed 11-0 by the council, as unfair and said its own judiciary was competent to try suspected human rights violators.