14 December 2006
The United Nations Human Rights Council resolved on Wednesday to send a mission to assess the human rights situation in the strife-torn Sudanese region of Darfur, council president Luis Alfonso de Alba said. The mission by the UN's special rapporteur on Sudan and "five highly-qualified persons" was approved by consensus at a special session of the 47-member body, de Alba announced. Meanwhile, a White House special envoy has reported progress in a meeting with Sudan's president, saying the two sides agreed on certain steps to improve the situation in Darfur. Andrew Natsios met with president Omar al-Bashir at the end of a four-day visit to push Sudan to accept some measure of UN intervention in the region where more than 200,000 have died in almost four years of conflict. Al-Bashir had refused to meet with Natsios during a previous trip in October. "We agreed to disagree on the history [of the violence) but we have agreed to there are some steps we can take in the next weeks to make some progress," Natsios was quoted as saying by AP. The US embassy in Khartoum said in a statement that Natsios emphasized it was important for Sudan to accept a UN support package for a beleaguered African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in Darfur. More than 2.5 million have driven from their homes in the fight between the government and ethnic African rebels that began in early 2003. Despite the spiraling violence, Sudan firmly opposes a Security Council resolution calling for 20,000 UN peacekeepers to replace the 7,000 member AU force.
