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The UN comes to no agreement on the Sudan crisis

by Amy Judd | March 6, 2009 at 09:46 pm

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The United Nations have failed to come to an agreement today to respond to the crisis in Sudan, when the government expelled 13 aid organizations working in the area. This came as a response to the International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant for the president Omar al-Bashir.

France put pressure on the UN today but they couldn't come to an agreement, but attempts to urge the council to act have also been blocked by Libya and China, who are allies of the Sudan.

Bashir ordered the aid agencies to leave the country yesterday, but Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general has said that if the agencies to leave the damage would be irreversable. One of the camps is in trouble of running out of water by next week with no aid. Obama has invited Ban Ki-moon to the White House to discuss the situation next week.

The Sudanese government accused the aid agencies of co-operating with the ICC and giving false testimony against them.

"We have a full dossier of information against those organisations,'' Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamed, the Sudanese ambassador to the UN, said.

"They are messing up everything as far as stability and security of Darfur is concerned [and] abusing the hospitality of the Sudanese people.''

The aid agencies have denied the accusations.
It is still up for debate whether ordering the aid agencies to leave is a crime against humanity or a war crime.

To knowingly and deliberately deprive such a huge group of civilians of means to survive is a deplorable act,'' said Rupert Colville, spokesman for Navi Pillay, the UN human rights chief.

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Uwe Paschen

at 22:11 on March 6th, 2009

How could it?! With China that will Veto any thing and the US trying not to upset China as well as Russia supporting China since it does not want trouble with China. Europe may be the only one supporting the UN.

A. Tran

at 10:33 on March 7th, 2009

Thank you, Amy, for the updates - I've included your pieces on this issue in my related article.

gerrypopplestone

at 23:39 on March 7th, 2009

Surely someone could have seen this coming! Indicting Bashir was always a high risk situation and the UN should have been prepared for the consequences!