KHARTOUM, 23 August 2004 — The Sudanese government has acknowledged for the first time that its militia allies in Darfur have committed serious human rights abuses, including rape, and given the United Nations a list of 30 suspects, Khartoum dailies said yesterday.
The list was handed over to the UN Human Rights Comission’s international observer, Emanuel Akoy, by Justice Minister Ali Mohammed Osman Yassin, the papers said.
Rape was among an array of accusations leveled against the 30, despite longstanding denials by Sudanese officials of rights watchdog Amnesty International’s accusations that rape was being used systematically as a weapon in the suppression of the 18-month-old armed rebellion by ethnic minorities in Darfur. “The government does not deny that human rights abuses occur and it will not protect those who commit them,” Ali Mohammed Osman Yassin admitted yesterday.He called for “help from international observers and voluntary organizations” and asked them to “pass on any information they have, particularly concerning rapes,” to the authorities.
Penalties against named militia commanders were among possible sanctions against Sudan canvassed by Washington at the United Nations last month before the Security Council decided to give Khartoum until Aug. 29 to take action on disarming the Janjaweed militia or face unspecified “measures”.
Meanwhile, Sudan announced that Agriculture Minister Majzoub Al-Khalifa, who led the government delegation in previous rounds of talks with the Darfur rebels, will again head Khartoum’s team in Abuja today. The one-day peace conference is aimed at ending the 18-month civil war in Darfur, which the United Nations says has sparked the world’s worst current humanitarian crisis.
It follows the breakdown of talks between the government and the two rebels factions in Addis Ababa last month.
