[JURIST] The UN Human Rights Council [official website] agreed Thursday to hold a special session to look into human rights abuses committed in the Darfur region [JURIST news archive] of Sudan. The rights body, established [JURIST report] earlier this year to replace the beleaguered Human Rights Commission, has so far focused mostly on the conflict in the Middle East, holding two special sessions on the Arab-Israeli conflict. In a statement [text] delivered to the HRC Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the Council to avoid "political maneuvering" [JURIST report] and stressed that the atrocities in Darfur deserve the group's attention.

Earlier this week, the HRC rejected a measure that would have called on the Sudanese government to try individuals charged with killing, raping and injuring civilians in Darfur. Reuters has more.