Arab-African Darfur Conference Delayed Again
Media Line News Agency
January 13, 2009
A minister-level meeting of Arab and African officials to discuss the crisis in Darfur has been delayed for the second time.
It was postponed last week because of the situation in Gaza.
The conference is being organized by the African Union and the Arab League to help find a solution to the crisis in the Sudanese western province.
It was originally planned to take place on January 4 in Doha, Qatar. However, Arab leaders delayed the meeting until January 12 because several senior officials, including the foreign minister of Qatar, wanted to attend a key United Nations meeting to discuss reaching a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
An Arab League representative announced on Saturday that it would be delayed again, until Wednesday.
No reason was given for the additional postponement.
Darfuris feel the Arab countries are practicing a double standard, putting a lot of diplomatic effort into the Gaza crisis while neglecting Darfur.
They are also concerned that Arab governments are deliberately foot-dragging in order to defend Sudan´s president, ´Umar Al-Bashir, against a pending international arrest warrant.
Last July, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said there were reasonable grounds to believe Al-Bashir bore criminal responsibility in relation to 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Sudan´s western Darfur province.
Judges are studying evidence and are expected to issue their verdict within the coming weeks.
The conflict in Darfur began in early 2003 when local rebel groups rose up against the central government in Khartoum, protesting against decades of discrimination. The government has been accused of unleashing aggressive armed groups called the Janjaweed to counter the rebels.
According to international estimates, more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.2 million displaced in what some governments are calling genocide.
The Sudanese government is downplaying the death toll of the Darfur conflict, and says it is closer to 10,000.
It was postponed last week because of the situation in Gaza.
The conference is being organized by the African Union and the Arab League to help find a solution to the crisis in the Sudanese western province.
It was originally planned to take place on January 4 in Doha, Qatar. However, Arab leaders delayed the meeting until January 12 because several senior officials, including the foreign minister of Qatar, wanted to attend a key United Nations meeting to discuss reaching a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
An Arab League representative announced on Saturday that it would be delayed again, until Wednesday.
No reason was given for the additional postponement.
Darfuris feel the Arab countries are practicing a double standard, putting a lot of diplomatic effort into the Gaza crisis while neglecting Darfur.
They are also concerned that Arab governments are deliberately foot-dragging in order to defend Sudan´s president, ´Umar Al-Bashir, against a pending international arrest warrant.
Last July, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said there were reasonable grounds to believe Al-Bashir bore criminal responsibility in relation to 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Sudan´s western Darfur province.
Judges are studying evidence and are expected to issue their verdict within the coming weeks.
The conflict in Darfur began in early 2003 when local rebel groups rose up against the central government in Khartoum, protesting against decades of discrimination. The government has been accused of unleashing aggressive armed groups called the Janjaweed to counter the rebels.
According to international estimates, more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.2 million displaced in what some governments are calling genocide.
The Sudanese government is downplaying the death toll of the Darfur conflict, and says it is closer to 10,000.
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