U.N. official says Sudan is still worth fighting for

September 16, 2008
CNN
Original Source: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/09/16/un.sudan.ap/index.html

GENEVA, Switzerland (AP) -- The United Nations' special investigator for Sudan said Tuesday she hoped her assignment would be extended another year, despite attempts by Khartoum and its allies to end her critical reporting to the global body's Human Rights Council.
Sima Samar, an Afghan doctor and rights expert, said Arab and African countries were supporting efforts to eliminate her mandate, which has upset the Arab-dominated government of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The European Union is proposing Samar continue for another year. A vote at the 47-nation rights council is expected next week.
I would be very unhappy if they abolished the mandate, Samar said in an interview with The Associated Press.
She said a number of countries were ignoring abuses in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan because of political alliances. There has been a marked rise this year in attacks on humanitarian workers and convoys, she said. In her latest report, she said the government in Khartoum has contributed to the insecurity and is failing to prosecute serious offenders.
The move by Sudan is the latest in a series of attempts to block any criticism of its actions in Darfur, where up to 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million chased from their homes since the conflict began in 2003.
Last year, with the help of allied African and Islamic countries, it persuaded the U.N. council to ignore a high-level report from a commission chaired by American Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jody Williams. The report was particularly critical of atrocities allegedly committed by government forces and allied militias.
If they are happy with my reports, it means that everything is OK. They should be unhappy, said Samar, who has been reporting on human rights in Sudan since 2005. This is the reality on the ground. It doesn't help the situation of human rights to ignore reality.
Sudan's mission to the United Nations in Geneva declined to comment. Its representatives, however, have staged side events during the current human rights council session to publicize what they say is the good work the government is doing in the field of human rights.
The efforts have apparently convinced a number of countries that human rights in Sudan no longer need the council's special scrutiny. Diplomats from rich and poor countries are expecting a close vote on the position of Samar, one of the global body's unpaid, independent human rights investigators.
Last week, Hassabo Abdelrahim, head of Sudan's humanitarian commission, told an audience of diplomats and rights campaigners that 99 percent is going well in the aid sector and that the mortality rate in Darfur is now normal. He said government forces were attacking rebels in Darfur to protect the humanitarian workers in the western region.
Sudanese Ambassador John Ukec Lueth Ukec added from the same panel that the rebels are causing the problems all the time, rejecting any misuse of force last month at Kalma camp in southern Darfur -- where a resident told the AP he counted 32 bodies, including women and children, after a government attack.
We do not target schools, civilians or anyone else, said Ukec, a former southern Sudan rebel leader who joined Khartoum's unity government after a 2005 cease-fire ended that conflict. The problem is that these rebels put themselves with the civilians. When I was a rebel, I always stayed 50 kilometers [30 miles] from any civilians.
The government, he said, will continue with such operations against rebel movements that have not signed on to a Darfur peace deal. He specifically mentioned the Justice and Equality Movement, one of Darfur's most powerful insurgent groups.
While prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have said they may add the attack by troops at Kalma to a list of war crimes allegations against al-Bashir, the Sudanese panel in Geneva defended it as in the interests of human rights and humanitarian work.
All the issues raised by the media concerning Sudan do not represent reality, said Abdel Daiem Zumrawi, a senior Justice Ministry official.