UN calls for fast action in Sudan

A UN report yesterday called for a quick increase in the international monitoring force in Sudan, saying the government has not stopped attacks against civilians or disarmed marauding militias.

On July 30, the council gave the government 30 days to demonstrate that it was taking action to curb Arab militias accused of attacking, raping and killing villagers in Darfur, and improve security and humanitarian access.

It threatened punitive economic and diplomatic measures if Khartoum didn’t move quickly.

The report to the UN Security Council did not mention or recommend sanctions but said the government of Sudan had not been able to resolve the crisis in Darfur, and had not met some of the core commitments it had made.

The Sudanese government is under intense international pressure to restore calm across the western desert region where an 18-month insurgency has killed more than 30,000 people and driven more than 1 million from their homes.

The UN report cited “some progress” by the government in improving security in several areas where Sudanese have taken refuge, deploying additional police and the beginning of disarmament and the lifting of restrictions to humanitarian relief.

It also said the government had made a commitment not to force those who had fled to return and had established human rights monitors and investigations of the conflict.

But despite its commitment, the report said, the government had not “fully” met its obligation to stop attacks against civilians and ensure their protection.