The US faced opposition from China, Russia and other Security Council members to its latest draft resolution threatening oil sanctions against Sudan if the government doesn't quickly rein in militias blamed for atrocities in western Darfur.
The resolution was the only subject discussed at the council's monthly luncheon Wednesday with Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Diplomats said there were deep divisions among the 15 members on how to pressure the Sudanese government to end the conflict that has killed over 50,000 people and forced more than 1.2 million to flee their homes.
Washington has called the conflict "genocide" and the UN humanitarian chief, Jan Egeland, in April called it ethnic cleansing and one of the world's "worst humanitarian crises."
The US circulated a revised draft Tuesday that softened language in the original text but still threatened to consider sanctions, including against Sudan's petroleum sector. Sudan began exporting oil in 1999 and produces an estimated 250,000 barrels per day.
At least five council members -- China and Russia which have veto power, and Pakistan, Algeria and Angola -- also had problems with other parts of the new draft.
The concerns include its declaration of "grave concern" that the Sudanese government "has failed to comply fully" with its previous commitments to curb the militias and provide security for the civilians who fled; its call for an independent commission to investigate "whether or not acts of genocide have occurred;" and its call for a halt to all military flights over Darfur.
Council experts met Wednesday afternoon and members were expected to hold closed-door consultations yesterday. US deputy ambassador Stuart Holliday said the UN was looking for a vote on Friday.
China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya, who threatened to veto the original draft, told two reporters on Wednesday that the changes in the new draft "are more cosmetic ... there's no change in the substance."
"Politically speaking, it is difficult for my government to approve this resolution," he said.
When asked if China would veto this draft as well, Wang said, "I don't know. I need to ask for instructions from my government."
He said the resolution should take a "constructive" approach to find a solution to the crisis, not a "destructive" approach. It should call on the Sudanese government to cooperate with the United Nations and with the African Union which plans to deploy a larger monitoring force to Darfur and urge countries to provide more humanitarian assistance.
Russia's UN Ambassador Andrey Denisov said Moscow hopes the current draft will be amended again to address the concerns of a number of council members.
Asked whether the possibility of oil sanctions was acceptable, he said "we don't like it ... those sanctions and specifically mentioning oil." Denisov wouldn't comment on a possible veto.
Algeria's UN Ambassador Abdallah Baali said his country does not believe "it is accurate and fair" to say that Sudan has not fulfilled its commitments, and therefore it doesn't believe any consideration of sanctions is appropriate.
Algeria doesn't support an international commission to investigate possible genocide "because the African Union had already, at its Addis Ababa summit in July, determined that there was no genocide and no ethnic cleansing," he said.
Pakistan's UN Ambassador Munir Akram said Secretary-General Kofi Annan's report on Sudan's compliance was mixed and the threat of sanctions is "premature at best."
Airlines in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday canceled flights to and from the Indonesian island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower into the sky. Australia’s Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores island spewed a 9km tower a day earlier. Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, India’s IndiGo and Singapore’s Scoot also listed flights as canceled. “Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds,” AirAsia said as it announced several cancelations. Multiple eruptions from the 1,703m twin-peaked volcano in
A plane bringing Israeli soccer supporters home from Amsterdam landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday after a night of violence that Israeli and Dutch officials condemned as “anti-Semitic.” Dutch police said 62 arrests were made in connection with the violence, which erupted after a UEFA Europa League soccer tie between Amsterdam club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli flag carrier El Al said it was sending six planes to the Netherlands to bring the fans home, after the first flight carrying evacuees landed on Friday afternoon, the Israeli Airports Authority said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered
Former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi said if US President Joe Biden had ended his re-election bid sooner, the Democratic Party could have held a competitive nominating process to choose his replacement. “Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” Pelosi said in an interview on Thursday published by the New York Times the next day. “The anticipation was that, if the president were to step aside, that there would be an open primary,” she said. Pelosi said she thought the Democratic candidate, US Vice President Kamala Harris, “would have done
Farmer Liu Bingyong used to make a tidy profit selling milk but is now leaking cash — hit by a dairy sector crisis that embodies several of China’s economic woes. Milk is not a traditional mainstay of Chinese diets, but the Chinese government has long pushed people to drink more, citing its health benefits. The country has expanded its dairy production capacity and imported vast numbers of cattle in recent years as Beijing pursues food self-sufficiency. However, chronically low consumption has left the market sloshing with unwanted milk — driving down prices and pushing farmers to the brink — while
RSS