Ambassador Tries to Spur U.N. to Act on Sudan

[papau]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-danforth9sep09.story

Ambassador Tries to Spur U.N. to Act on Sudan
John C. Danforth, a former U.S. envoy to the African nation, is pushing a resolution threatening sanctions if abuses in Darfur go on.
By Maggie Farley
Times Staff Writer

September 9, 2004

UNITED NATIONS — John C. Danforth is not surprised that Sudan's government hasn't lived up to its promises to stop the massacres in its country. When he was the Bush administration envoy to Sudan, he got used to Khartoum trying to get by with offering only "half a loaf," he has said.

But as the new U.S. ambassador to the U.N., he faces an even tougher adversary in trying to spur action in Sudan: the Security Council.

On Wednesday, Danforth tried a second time to get the Security Council to threaten sanctions against Sudan if the government does not stop abuses in the western region of Darfur, circulating a draft resolution that targets the country's lucrative oil exports.

The council passed a resolution July 30 threatening to consider sanctions if Khartoum did not disarm and prosecute the pro-government militias accused of atrocities, but the 30-day deadline passed without much progress in Sudan or any action by the Security Council.

The new resolution is stronger and more specific, threatening sanctions on the oil industry and against individuals if the government does not rein in the militias. It also demands that Sudan accept more African Union troops to protect civilians and investigate abuses, and that the U.N. create an international commission to determine whether genocide has occurred.<snip>

[Mistress Quickly]

1. Tis really needs to be a non-partisan issue

because every day, untold numbers of people are dying in the Darfur region, everyone knows about it, and something has to be done.

What a chance for the US to step up and show some compassion, of course, Bush will probably bomb and maim the innocents, and let the bad guys go for another day.

Are their any natural resources in Sudan? You know, expensive natural resources?