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US Bocks UN Briefing on Atrocities in Sudan
By Irwin Arieff
Reuters
Monday 10 October 2005
United Nations - U.S. Ambassador John Bolton blocked a U.N. envoy
on Monday from briefing the Security Council on grave human rights violations
in Sudan's Darfur region, saying the council had to act against atrocities and
not just talk about them.
Bolton, joined by China, Algeria and Russia, prevented Juan Mendez, Secretary-General
Kofi Annan's special adviser for the prevention of genocide, from briefing the
council on his recent visit to Darfur, despite pleas from Annan and 11 other
council members that Mendez be heard.
"I strongly regret and deplore that Mr. Mendez ... was not authorized
to brief the council today as Mr. Kofi Annan had asked," French Ambassador
Jean-Marc de la Sabliere told reporters outside the council chambers.
But Bolton said he had objected to the briefing to make the point the council
should be "talking more about the steps it can take to do something about
the deteriorating security situation" in Darfur. He gave no new proposals.
"How many officials from the secretariat does it take to give a briefing?"
he said, noting the council had just concluded a briefing on Darfur from Hedi
Annabi, the assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations.
Mendez, who visited Darfur for a week in late September, later briefed reporters
on his findings. He said Sudanese officials were taking only cosmetic steps
to prevent systematic human rights abuses there that might amount to genocide.
crimes against humanity or war crimes.
He also accused Khartoum of refusing to cooperate with the prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court, a tribunal strongly opposed by the Bush administration
on grounds it might pursue frivolous prosecutions of U.S. soldiers or officials
working abroad.
International Pressure
"We cannot let the government of Sudan get away with that," Mendez
told a news conference. "I haven't seen any indication of the international
community telling Sudan, 'You don't have a choice, you have to cooperate with
the ICC."'
Mendez said the Security Council had to put more pressure on the Sudanese to
disarm nomad Arab gangs, known as Janjaweed, responsible for many of the atrocities
now escalating in camps housing African tribesmen thrown off their land. So
far Sudanese trials of any perpetrators were meaningless, he said.
Secondly, Mendez recommended that the international community make good on
its pledges to give aid to the Africa Union, which has monitors and troops in
Darfur.
Council diplomats who wanted to hear from Mendez said it was a council tradition
to give the envoy a platform when Annan called for a briefing from his adviser
on genocide.
They noted Bolton had lined up with the three council members - Algeria, China
and Russia - which have watered down action against Khartoum.
"He's playing into the hands of people who don't want to do anything,"
said one council diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to
irritate Washington.
The Security Council met for a briefing on the latest developments in Darfur
after rebels in the western Sudanese region abducted a number of African Union
peacekeeping troops and killed some of them.
The incident prompted Annan to warn in Geneva on Monday that a surge of violence
in the region may force the world body to suspend some aid to Darfur.
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