UN rights expert: Sudan conflict continues to harm civilians News
UN rights expert: Sudan conflict continues to harm civilians

[JURIST] Assistant Secretary-General for UN peacekeeping operations Edmund Mulet [official profile] said [press release] Tuesday that the ongoing conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan is continuing to harm civilians. Presenting the Report of the Secretary-General on the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur [text, PDF] to the UN Security Council [official website], Mulet said an increase in violent attacks “by armed assailants against United Nations peacekeepers and humanitarian personnel” has made protecting and aiding civilians incredibly difficult. The report notes that at least 70,000 people have been displaced this year with additional reports of as many as 130,000 being displaced. Aggravating factors in the region are listed as inter-communal fighting, conflicts over resources, broader political tensions, the actions of numerous paramilitary groups and militias, the proliferation of small arms and criminality, and the handling of insecurity by local authorities.

There has been significant international attention surrounding the human rights violations in Sudan. Last June Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] reported that Ali Kosheib, former militia leader turned officer of the Sudan Central Reserve Police, was spotted in an attack [JURIST report] against Salamat communities in Central Darfur. In January 2014 HRW urged Sudan to end its crackdown [JURIST report] against political and cultural groups. In July 2013 International Criminal Court [official website] Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that attacks on UN peacekeepers in Darfur may constitute war crimes [JURIST report].