Better late than never. The United Nations is finally facing up to widespread, ongoing crimes against humanity in Sudan. The U.N. seems to think negotiations, commissions of inquiry and reparations can make things all right. Those steps are necessary, but an, ahem, multilateral armed intervention may well be required first.

A U.N. report issued today details and decries "disturbing patterns of massive human rights violations" against black African civilians in Sudan's Darfur region by the Arab Muslim "Government of Sudan and its proxy militia, many of which may constitute war crimes and/or crimes against humanity. According to information collected, it is clear that there is a reign of terror in Darfur."

An estimated one million Sudanese blacks have been internally displaced; they are referred to as IDPs in the paragraphs that follow. Others have been forced to flee across the border to Chad. The murders, rapes, lootings, and destruction of property have not yet been fully catalogued in this latest, sorry chapter of a 20-year Arab Muslim reign of terror against blacks in Sudan. The proxy militia of Arab mercenaries, or Janjaweed, are in the employ of the Arab Muslim regime, in Khartoum. Doubtless, peace-loving Arabs and Muslims join the growing chorus worldwide sickened by these atrocities.

Here are some key excerpts from the U.N. report.

"Numerous...refugees interviewed in Chad and who came from areas in North Darfur close to the Sudan-Chad border, described a pattern of attacks beginning with air bombardments using an Antonov military plane. They said that bombs were sometimes dropped on crowded areas such as markets or communal wells; homes, shops, and fields were also destroyed. Some refugees alleged that they were the object of such aerial attacks, sometimes by helicopter gunships, even as they were fleeing. These attacks terrorised the population. In every instance recounted to the mission, there was no warning that an attack was coming.

Refugees in Chad reported that invariably bombardments were followed by ground assaults by the military, the Janjaweed, or by combinations of the two. The Janjaweed were uniformed in khaki and those interviewed could not distinguish them from the regular armed forces except by the fact that they often travelled on horses or camels, with the military using mechanised transport. In the eyes of many refugees, there appeared to be little or no difference between the regular army and the Janjaweed.

Refugees said that these forces indiscriminately attacked those who had not fled, such as the elderly and disabled. The testimony also suggests that men and boys were particular targets. Several individuals interviewed reported that their spouses, children and/or members of their extended families were killed by the Janjaweed. In some instances the Janjaweed returned to villages several days later and carried out additional attacks on those remaining.

...While it was difficult for the mission to ascertain whether there were armed rebels in the vicinity of those areas which were attacked, a considerable majority of those who were attacked were civilians: women, children, and the elderly. It is also clear that the armed forces and their proxy militias punished certain populations collectively for belonging to the same ethnic group as the rebels, and inflicted terror amongst them.

Many refugees and IDPs reported that they had fled without being able to bury their dead. It is unclear how many dead there are and how these corpses, in many instances, have been dealt with.

...There are consistent reports among refugee and IDP women from various locations that “men in uniform” raped and abused women and young girls. Most allegations were against the Janjaweed...Rape and other forms of sexual abuse by the Janjaweed was widely alleged to be continuing inside and around IDP sites. Women often reported that they would be kidnapped and raped if they went any further than one and a half kilometres away from their camp to collect wood or to tend their vegetable gardens in their home village. Rape represents a policy that is employed to intimidate and humiliate the IDP population and to prevent them from leaving the vicinity of the IDP sites.

..Destruction of private homes, huts, crops and agricultural areas, wells, shops and entire civilian locations appears to have systematically taken place without military justification. Food stuffs and livestock appear to have been systematically looted or destroyed. Almost every person interviewed by the mission reported the pillage and looting of his or her private property. Many reported that they saw their homes being torched. Many have lost their entire life possessions.

...The mission visited a number of villages in Darfur that had been burned. Those living in these villages had fled. In two locations, however, the mission was able to find a few individuals who had stayed on; they were either too elderly to leave or, in one case, were compelled to return to their village to irrigate those crops which constituted their families’ only means of sustenance. Those interviewed told a consistent story of attacks by a large number of uniformed men on horses or camels, who killed, destroyed, and looted. It will be almost impossible for people to return to these locations until security and protection are fully established and effective programmes of compensation, rehabilitation and reconstruction are put in place.

...The inevitable consequence of the killings, rape, burning and looting of villages has been massive displacement, within Sudan and across the border to Chad. These policies appear to be directly aimed at preventing the villagers from returning to their homes or being in a position to provide any support to the rebels.

...These policies have resulted in a dire human rights and humanitarian crisis. Humanitarian agencies report that there are currently some one million internally displaced persons in Darfur. Humanitarian assistance to these IDPs has been severely restricted.

....RECOMMENDATIONS

The Government of Sudan should, at the highest levels, publicly and unequivocally condemn all actions and crimes committed by the Janjaweed and ensure that all militias are immediately disarmed and disbanded. Violations of human rights and international humanitarian law must be thoroughly and swiftly investigated and perpetrators must be brought to justice.

Humanitarian workers must be given full and unimpeded access to Darfur...The Government of Sudan should pursue a policy of national reconciliation for Darfur, end impunity and promote the rule of law based on non-discrimination, the effective protection of minorities and indigenous populations, as well as the participation of all in public life and the active promotion of development programmes for Darfur.

...Refugees and displaced persons should have the possibility of voluntarily returning home without fear for their lives and personal security. They should be able to reacquire their lands. Restitution, or fair compensation and reparations should be extended to all victims of the conflict in Darfur with particular attention paid to the situation of women victims of gender-based violence, to children, the elderly and the disabled. The Government of Sudan should implement an appropriate programme for the reintegration and return of the population to Darfur.

...The Government of Sudan should put in place measures to ensure that such human rights abuses, war crimes and crimes against humanity, are not repeated in the future and that the rule of law is restored in Darfur in conformity with internationally agreed standards.

...An international Commission of inquiry is required given the gravity of the allegations of human rights violations in Darfur, and the failure of the national legal system to address the problem. To be credible, such a Commission must be, and must be seen to be, independent. The Government of Sudan should cooperate with this Commission."

AND IF THEY DON'T?

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at May 7, 2004 02:27 PM

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» U.N. and Sudan from steevak.com v3.4
Matt Rosenberg highlights the UN Human Rights Commission's report on the horrible situation that is continuing in Sudan. Notice how the recommended actions only call for words, apologies, promises, and, of course, an independent commission of inquiry... [Read More]

Tracked on May 10, 2004 05:11 PM

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