 |
|
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
SUDAN: Security Council imposes sanctions over Darfur atrocities
NAIROBI, 26 Apr 2006 (IRIN) - The United Nations Security Council has imposed travel and financial sanctions against four Sudanese individuals suspected of involvement in atrocities against civilians in the strife-torn western region of Darfur.
In a resolution on Tuesday, the Council decided that all countries should take measures to prevent the entry into or transit through their territories of the four people slapped with the restrictions. States are also obliged to freeze all funds, assets and other economic resources on their territories that are owned or controlled by those individuals.
It identified the individuals as Maj Gen Gaffar Mohamed Elhassan, a former commander of the western military region for the Sudanese Air Force; Sheikh Musa Hilal, paramount chief of the Jalul ethnic group in North Darfur; Adam Yacub Shant, a commander in the rebel Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA); and Gabril Abdul Kareem Badri, a field commander of the rebel National Movement for Reform and Development.
Speaking after the adoption of the resolution, the United States ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, said he believed that the decision to impose sanctions constituted a first step by the Council in fulfilling its responsibilities in the region. He said the sanctions were intended to bring pressure to bear on all parties to the conflict in Darfur, with a view to ending it.
Alfred Taban, editor of the Khartoum Monitor newspaper, welcomed the move by the Security Council, but said it was a "small step". "These are not senior commanders. The Sudanese Air Force commander is already retired; Gabril is the commander of a very small rebel faction and the SLA commander is relatively low in rank," he explained.
"While Musa Hilal [one of the leaders of the Janjawid militia said to be behind some of the worst atrocities] is the most significant individuals of the four - and it is good that he's on the list - he too takes his orders from the Sudanese army. It doesn't go far enough," said Taban, urging the UN to pursue those who gave the orders.
On whether the Council's move would jeopardise the peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria, between the Sudanese government and the Darfur rebel groups, Taban said: "It is the opposite. Any agreement that is reached now needs to be sustainable. There is no use in reaching a peace that is not lasting and sustainable. It would only be a temporary peace. The people of Darfur want peace, but they also want justice," he said.
China, Qatar and the Russian Federation abstained from voting on the resolution. Representatives of the three countries said the sanctions would have a negative impact on the Abuja talks.
In a separate statement read out by the Council's April President, Wang Guangya of China, the body urged that the talks taking place in Abuja meet the African Union's 30 April deadline for a peace deal for Darfur.
The Darfur conflict erupted in early 2003 when the SLA and the smaller Justice and Equality Movement took up arms against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum to end what they called the neglect and oppression of the mainly black inhabitants of Darfur, a semi-desert region the size of France. The Sudanese government responded by backing Arab militia known as the Janjawid.
[ENDS]
This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
