By Unanimous Vote, U.N. Hits 4 Sudanese With Sanctions Over Darfur

By Colum Lynch
April 26, 2006
The Washington Post
Original Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/25/AR2006042501700.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 25 -- The U.N. Security Council imposed a travel ban and ordered the freezing of assets of a senior Sudanese air force officer and three other Sudanese nationals suspected of committing war crimes or impeding the peace process in Sudan's Darfur region.
The 15-nation council voted 12 to 0 for the sanctions, with abstentions by China, Russia and Qatar, whose diplomats cited concern that the punitive measures could undercut African Union-led peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria, between Sudan and Darfur's two main rebel groups.
The sanctions come as the council struggles to forge a meaningful and effective response to a conflict in Darfur that has left more than 100,000 dead and more than 2 million people homeless. The Bush administration has accused Khartoum and government-backed Arab militias of committing genocide in a campaign aimed at crushing a rebellion in Darfur.
A U.S.-backed plan to send more than 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers to Darfur to replace a small, under-equipped African Union force of 7,000 has been rejected by Sudan's president, Lt. Gen. Omar Hassan Bashir. The United Nations' humanitarian operation, meanwhile, is on the verge of collapse, as more than 200,000 people have been driven from their homes over the past four months, according to Jan Egeland, U.N. humanitarian relief coordinator.
The current troubles in Darfur began in early 2003, when two Darfurian rebel groups took up arms against the country's Islamic government in Khartoum. The government responded by recruiting, training and equipping local Arab militia, known as the Janjaweed.
Tuesday's action marked the first time the 15-nation council has punished individuals in Darfur since the conflict began. The resolution targets Gaffar Mohamed el-Hassan, a Sudanese air force general who formerly served in Darfur, and Musa Hilal, a leader of the Janjaweed militia, accused of carrying out some of the worst atrocities. Two rebel leaders, Gabril Abdul Kareem Badri and Sudan Liberation Army commander Adam Yacub Shant, were also singled out.
A call requesting comment from the Sudanese U.N. mission was not returned Tuesday.
The Bush administration characterized the council's action as the first stage of an escalating diplomatic pressure campaign on Khartoum. This is a significant step, a down payment and an indication of the seriousness of the Security Council, U.S. Ambassador John R. Bolton told reporters.
But others said that it is too little to stem the violence in Darfur. It's very little, very late, said Susan E. Rice, who was the assistant secretary of state for African affairs under President Bill Clinton and now serves as a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Having said that it is certainly better than nothing. There needs to be some indication of at least the prospect of accountability for people who commit genocide.