SUDAN: EU foreign ministers have threatened Sudan with sanctions unless the government in Khartoum takes action to stop Arab militias from attacking the population in Darfur. However, aid workers there fear sanctions could make the situation worse, write Denis Staunton in Brussels and Denis McClean in Geneva
Meeting in Brussels, the EU foreign ministers also agreed to back the establishment of a UN commission of inquiry to investigate human rights abuses in Darfur, "and to determine whether acts of genocide have occurred".
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said yesterday that up to 10,000 people a month were dying in Darfur camps from disease and violence. The claim came from Mr David Nabarro, of the WHO's health crisis action group.
The US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, asserted last week that genocide might well have taken place in Darfur, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said the EU's support for a commission of inquiry was aimed at establishing if that was indeed the case.
"The Americans have indicated that they believe that genocide has taken place there. Obviously there has been a lot of violence, murder and mayhem. This is to establish in legal terms if it is genocide," he said.
The UN Convention on Genocide and the Statute of the International Criminal Court both define genocide as "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group."
Arab militias have killed up to 50,000 Africans in Darfur, and more than a million people have fled their homes.
"Reports that members of the militia have been integrated into the military forces are of grave concern ... Contrary to various announcements by the government of Sudan, there are reports about continuing massive and severe human rights violations by the armed militia, including systematic rape of women," the ministers said.
However, aid workers in Darfur are fearful of the repercussions which sanctions against Sudan might have on the health and well-being of the local population, according to Concern's emergency co-ordinator Mr Dominic MacSorley.
"It's hard to know how the Sudanese would react to sanctions. They may feel isolated and pull the plug on us, which would have disastrous consequences for the health of the displaced population in the camps.
"It would also have serious consequences for protection of the local population if there was no longer any international presence," said Mr MacSorley, who returns to Khartoum today following consultations in Dublin.
Asked about the UN-reported death toll of 50,000, Mr MacSorley said: "I think they are using guesstimates. As to whether it's genocide or not, that remains to be seen," he told The Irish Times.
He called for an improved UN presence, and the establishment of a proper mechanism for reporting human rights abuses. He said the Janjaweed were still visible in Darfur despite more local police.
Concern is also bringing relief to about 10,000 members of the Arab Girmir tribe who were displaced after attacks by the Sudanese Liberation Army.