UN to examine if Sudan's expulsion of aid groups is war crime
Last Updated: Friday, March 6, 2009 | 6:44 AM ET Comments28Recommend8
CBC News
The United Nations will investigate whether Sudan's decision to expel aid groups in the wake of an arrest warrant being issued for its president constitutes a breach of basic human rights or is a war crime, said its human rights office.
The Sudanese decision to expel relief workers from 13 of the largest aid groups is a "grievous dereliction" putting lives of thousands at risk, said UN Human Rights Council spokesman Rupert Colville on Friday.
"To knowingly and deliberately deprive such a huge group of civilians of means to survive is a deplorable act," said Colville, who speaks for UN human rights chief Navi Pillay. "Humanitarian assistance has nothing to do with the [International Criminal Court] proceedings. To punish civilians because of a decision by the ICC is a grievous dereliction of the government's duty to protect its own people."
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's government ordered the expulsion of 13 international organizations from Darfur following the International Criminal Court issuing a warrant for his arrest for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The expelled groups include Oxfam, CARE and Save the Children and removes about 40 per cent of the aid workers, or 6,500 people, from the region.
Though the UN had taken into account the possibility that al-Bashir might expel aid workers, the order for them to leave immediately came as a surprise, said UN deputy emergency relief co-ordinator Catherine Bragg.
Al-Bashir accused the organizations of disrupting peace efforts in the region and alleged they have violated the law and security of Sudan.
The groups have denied the accusations.
On Thursday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also said Sudan's decision will cause "irrevocable damage" to humanitarian operations in Darfur and called on the government to urgently reconsider its decision.
Ban said 4.7 million people in Darfur are receiving aid. The absence of the organizations in the country could heighten the crisis for the Sudanese, who still need shelter, food and clean water, he said.
The warrant for al-Bashir marks the first time the ICC has issued for the arrest of a head of state who is still in power. The judges in The Hague allege the Sudanese president committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during a five-year anti-insurgency campaign.
That campaign, it is alleged, was waged against the Sudanese Liberation Movement Army, the Justice and Equality Movement and other armed groups who complained of decades of neglect and discrimination by the Arab-dominated government.
The fighting, which began in 2003, has led to the deaths of more than 300,000 people and forced nearly 2.7 million others from their homes.
