Related articles and links |  1 of 6

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell called the Sudan government's militia activity in its Darfur region "genocide" yesterday. It marks a dramatic increase in pressure on the Sudan government to stop the attacks on largely Muslim blacks supported by the Arab Muslim government.

"When we reviewed the evidence compiled by our team," Mr. Powell said, "we concluded—I concluded—that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed [militia] bear responsibility."

Ten years ago, the United Nations and the U.S. government refused to call the murders of 800,000 of Rwandans genocide, in part because of legal ramifications. The Associated Press writes, "Under the genocide convention, the United Nations can take any action under its charter that it considers 'appropriate for the prevention and suppression of acts of genocide,' Powell said. He urged the U.N. Security Council to approve a resolution that asks the United Nations to look into 'all violations of international humanitarian law and human rights that have occurred in Darfur.'" More than one million people have been displaced because of militia raids in the region.

The United Nations and the European Union are hesitant to use the term. "'We want to concentrate on keeping the government of Sudan engaged and not go down a path that could terminate that engagement,' said Munir Akram, the Pakistani ambassador [to the U.N.]. The Chinese ambassador, Wang Guangya, suggested that China might veto such a resolution," according to The New York Times.

"We have not discussed specifically the use of the word genocide,'' said European Union spokesman Jean-Charles Ellermann-Kingombe. "We have noted that there is an extremely serious situation that still requires a huge humanitarian aid effort."

Other nations fear that by calling its actions genocide, the U.S. may provoke the Sudan government into less cooperation with the international community. Currently a few hundred African Union monitors are watching the implementation of a peace agreement, but they have little authority to enforce action. Powell said "genocide may still be occurring" in the country.

The U.S. has introduced a resolution in the U.N. Security Council calling for sanctions against the country, which could include limits on Sudan's oil production. According to the BBC sanctions could also include:

• the expansion of the number and mandate of the current 300 African Union troops in the country
• international overflights in Darfur to monitor what is happening, and an end to Sudanese military flights there
• U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to assess whether acts of genocide have been carried out and identify the perpetrators.

Evangelicals have been urging the administration to put pressure on Sudan to end its civil war against Christians and animists in the south of the country. Recently, a peace agreement was signed between the two parties, but, as Ambassador Michael Ranneberger told CT, "the north/south agreement essentially cannot be implemented unless there is peace in Darfur."

For more on Sudan, including an interview with John Danforth, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., see our Sudan page.

Other articles on Sudan include:

• Powell says rapes and killings in Sudan are genocide | Secretary of State Colin L. Powell declared Thursday that the United States viewed the killings, rapes and destruction of homes in the Darfur region of western Sudan as genocide, and he called on the United Nations Security Council to recognize that the situation required urgent action. (The New York Times)

next page... |  1 of 6

share this page

September (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48