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30/03/2005
Darfur death toll 'grossly underestimated', MPs claim
British MPs have claimed that the death toll in the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan could be much higher than previously estimated.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) had estimated that around 70,000 people had died since the conflict erupted in 2003. The government of Sudan and Arab militias had been accused of committing war crimes against black Africans in the region.
However, the International Development Committee said that the death toll is likely to be around 300,000 and described the events, which occurred in Darfur as "no less serious and heinous as genocide".
The report stated that the WHO figures were inaccurate because they only counted violent deaths within camps for Sudanese people internally displaced by the crisis, not those who were killed before reaching the camps. The WHO figures also only cover the period between March and mid-October 2004 and only accounted for deaths within Darfur's borders.
The report also criticised governments around the world, including Britain, as well as aid agencies and the UN Security Council, for what they called a "scandalously ineffective response" to the Darfur crisis. Among the problems identified in the report were a failure to respond quickly to the crisis and a failure to secure humanitarian access to the region. However, the report said that much of the responsibility for the crisis lay with the Sudanese government.
The publication of the report follows a vote by the UN Security Council to tighten its arms embargo on Sudan's government and rebels through the formation of a Council committee to monitor the implementation of the weapons ban.
The Council would also be able to freeze the funds, financial assets and economic resources of anyone who "impeded the peace process" or committed "violations of international humanitarian or human rights laws or other atrocities".
(KMcA/SP)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) had estimated that around 70,000 people had died since the conflict erupted in 2003. The government of Sudan and Arab militias had been accused of committing war crimes against black Africans in the region.
However, the International Development Committee said that the death toll is likely to be around 300,000 and described the events, which occurred in Darfur as "no less serious and heinous as genocide".
The report stated that the WHO figures were inaccurate because they only counted violent deaths within camps for Sudanese people internally displaced by the crisis, not those who were killed before reaching the camps. The WHO figures also only cover the period between March and mid-October 2004 and only accounted for deaths within Darfur's borders.
The report also criticised governments around the world, including Britain, as well as aid agencies and the UN Security Council, for what they called a "scandalously ineffective response" to the Darfur crisis. Among the problems identified in the report were a failure to respond quickly to the crisis and a failure to secure humanitarian access to the region. However, the report said that much of the responsibility for the crisis lay with the Sudanese government.
The publication of the report follows a vote by the UN Security Council to tighten its arms embargo on Sudan's government and rebels through the formation of a Council committee to monitor the implementation of the weapons ban.
The Council would also be able to freeze the funds, financial assets and economic resources of anyone who "impeded the peace process" or committed "violations of international humanitarian or human rights laws or other atrocities".
(KMcA/SP)
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UN warns Sudan to address Darfur crisis or face action
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The UN has pledged to take action against Sudan within 30 days if it does not make progress on disarming the militias accused of indiscriminate murders, rapes and other attacks against civilians in the Darfur region Punitive measures include steps allowed under the UN Charter, such as issuing economic penalties, restricting transport and communicat
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