KHARTOUM: The UN human rights office will examine whether Sudan’s decision to expel aid groups constitutes a breach of basic human rights and possibly a war crime, a spokesman said yesterday.

Rupert Colville said the Sudanese decision to expel relief workers from at least 10 aid groups constitutes a “grievous dereliction” of duty, putting the lives of thousands at risk.

The World Food Program says some 1.1 million of the 2 to 3 million people it feeds each month are dependent on deliveries from the groups that have been expelled.

Sudan ordered the organizations out after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for President Omar Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur conflict. Khartoum has accused the groups such as CARE and Save the Children of cooperating with the court and giving false testimony. The groups deny the accusations.

“To knowingly and deliberately deprive such a huge group of civilians of means to survive is a deplorable act,” said Colville, who speaks for UN human rights chief Navi Pillay. “Humanitarian assistance has nothing to do with the ICC proceedings. To punish civilians because of a decision by the ICC is a grievous dereliction of the government’s duty to protect its own people. “This decision by the government could threaten the lives of thousands of civilians,” living in camps in Darfur and elsewhere, he added.

A senior Foreign Ministry official in Khartoum, Mutrif Siddique, said the Sudanese Humanitarian Affairs Ministry is aware the expulsion of these organizations will have an impact on people in Sudan. “This ministry and authorities have made arrangements to avoid a food shortage or a medical crisis,” he said.

The UN Security Council scheduled a meeting to discuss Sudan. Costa Rican Ambassador Jorge Urbina, a member of the council, told reporters no draft resolution has been put in circulation. Libya, which holds the council’s presidency this month, convened the closed-door consultations to air its concerns about the impact of the ICC warrant on the peace process in Sudan, diplomats said.

Hundreds of people protested in Khartoum yesterday as preachers condemned the warrant. It was the third day of demonstrations after The Hague-based court announced it was indicting Bashir on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and torture.

Up to 2,000 people massed outside the headquarters of the European Commission in Khartoum and hundreds of others were seen gathering outside mosques in other parts of the city.

Crowds shouted “down, down USA” and “down, down ICC” as mosques emptied after Friday prayers.

There was a heavy security presence on the streets, but the protests appeared much smaller than the mass rallies supporting Bashir in Khartoum on Thursday. Preachers in a number of Khartoum mosques gave sermons calling on Muslims across Sudan to condemn the ICC decision.

Iran and Hamas showed their support for Bashir yesterday, sending top officials to the Sudanese capital.