The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the Save Darfur Coalition, and the Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT) welcome the adoption today, at the closure of the the 4th session of the Human Rights Council, of a resolution on Sudan, that establishes an expert group [1]that will « ensure the effective follow-up and foster the implementation of the resolutions and recommendations of UN human rights institutions on Darfur ».
« The Council has made an important progress in moving from the assessment phase to the supervising of the implementation of conclusions and recommendations », said Sidiki Kaba, President of the FIDH, « we regret that it took so much time for the members of the Council to agree on the assessment and turn to the action phase ».
From now on the experts will be focusing on the Sudanese authorities’ fulfillment of the requirements put forward by the international community. It is urgent that the Sudanese government comply. The three organisations expect in this regard :
– immediate cessation of hostile acts by the government sponsored Janjaweed militia,
– immediate unimpeded and secure access : for the UN-AMIS hybrid force, to ensure protection of the civilian population ; for humanitarian workers, so as to provide immediate relief ; and for human rights defenders, to monitor the evolution of the situation;
– full cooperation with the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC, following the referral of the situation by the Security Council.
«The Government of Sudan blocked the High Level Mission on Sudan, established at the Council’s 4th session in December 2006, from visiting Darfur, and then tried to scuttle the Mission’s report on the grounds that the Mission did not visit Darfur,» recalled Lawrence Rossin, Senior International Coordinator of the Save Darfur Coalition. Mr. Rossin emphasized that «our organizations now demand that the Government of Sudan fully and unconditionally cooperate with the group of experts led by the Special Rapporteur on Sudan, and that the Council accept no less. We will be measuring progress, alongside the experts’ evaluation, in these three areas. Should the Sudanese authorities fail to comply before the fifth session of the Council in June, the Human Rights Council should then take punitive action and support sanctions.»
The human rights crisis in Darfur continues to worsen. The prospect looms of a catastrophe exceeding even the horrors of the past four years, during which more than 200,000 people have been killed, more than 2 million been displaced, and rape, torture and killing of civilians have been systematic.