EU: Darfur Escalation Demands

Brussels, October 19, 2006) ?
European governments must apply targeted sanctions on President Omar El Bashir and other top Sudanese officials responsible for the ongoing military offensive and associated abuses against civilians in Darfur, Human Rights Watch said today. A summit of EU heads of state is scheduled for October 20, 2006 in Finland. In October, the UN Panel of Experts reported to the UN sanctions committee that almost all the warring parties in Darfur were blatantly violating the arms embargo and recommended that individual sanctions be applied to a confidential list of individuals.

"The UN Panel of Experts has recommended sanctions on those who continue to abuse civilians and violate the arms embargo. Clearly Khartoum policymakers should be top of this list," said Peter Takirambudde, director of Human Rights Watch's Africa division. "The European Union says it supports sanctions. If this is more than rhetoric then now is the time to apply them at the European level." Read more >>>