US resolution threatens sanctions over Darfur
Draft expected to face stiff opposition at UN
UNITED NATIONS -- The United States distributed a draft UN resolution yesterday that threatens consideration of sanctions on Sudan's oil industry if Khartoum fails to stem violence in its Darfur region or blocks the deployment of thousands of African monitors.
The draft, which the 15-nation Security Council is set to begin debating today, also calls on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate and prosecute human rights violators and determine whether their crimes amount to genocide.
The US initiative is designed to increase political pressure on Khartoum to accept a UN proposal that would expand a small African Union observer mission by creating a force of more than 3,000 African peacekeepers.
The mandate of the new force is the subject of Nigerian-sponsored talks between Sudan and Darfur rebels in Abuja, Nigeria.
Senior council ambassadors said they expect intense resistance to the resolution, particularly from the council's strongest opponents of sanctions, including China and Pakistan, which both import oil from Sudan.
Even European governments, including Britain, believe the US resolution will have to be watered down to gain broad support in the council, according to a European diplomat. "I think the US approach is what I would call stick-based rather than carrot-based," said one council diplomat. "We feel now is not the time for sanctions."
US officials and human rights advocates charge that Sudanese-sponsored Arab militias have killed tens of thousands of black civilians in Darfur in the past 18 months and forced more than 1 million from their homes. The US draft expresses "grave concern" over Sudan's failure to "fully comply" with the council's demand that it crack down on the Arab militias.
Although the three-page text credits Khartoum with achieving a "limited improvement" in access for humanitarian aid workers in Darfur, it harshly assesses the government's commitment to end the suffering. It calls on Annan to brief the council within 30 days on Khartoum's compliance with the council's demands.
The draft resolution also threatens unspecified sanctions against the government in Khartoum or individual Sudanese officials responsible for backing the militias. 