US takes stronger line on Sudan than the UN
Apr 23rd, 2004 by jimmoore
From the BBC today:
style=”font-style: italic;”>…the United Nations Human Rights Commission adopted a watered down statement on Darfur.
>The United States had pushed for a much harder hitting resolution criticising Sudanese government abuses.
>The more softly-worded compromise expresses concern at
the situation in the Darfur region, welcomes plans to send a high-level
team there to investigate and urges all sides in the conflict to comply
with a ceasefire agreement.
>However, rather than condemning Sudan, it expresses
solidarity with the country in overcoming the presesnt situation. It
was voted against by the US.
>”Ten years from today the only thing that will be
remembered about the 60th Commission on Human Rights is whether we
stand up on the ethnic cleansing going on in Sudan,” US delegation head
Richard Williamson told AFP news agency.
The point here is that the United States is now pressing the UN to
act, or to at least witness strongly. And the UN Human Rights
commission, made up, sordidly, by some noted human rights
abusers, is refusing to be aggressive.
This note, by the way, is from a larger story detailing the Human
Rights Watch evidence about Sudanese government orchestration of the
genocide. The full BBC article is entitled, “”Mass-execution’ in western Sudan”
Dave Winer sent me this piece from
the BBC this morning–he actually scooped my call from Ken Roth of
Human Rights Watch, but I wasn’t reading my email until now.