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UN expert slams 'grim' situation in Sudan
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Sep 9, 2008 - 6:31:29 AM

UN expert slams 'grim' situation in Sudan

GENEVA (AFP) — A UN human rights expert on Tuesday accused the government in Khartoum of indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Darfur and affording impunity to those who abuse human rights in the war-torn region.

"The human rights situation on the ground remains grim," said Sima Samar, the United Nations special rapporteur on Sudan, in a report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

"A culture of impunity is prevalent; the state fails to investigate, punish and prosecute perpetrators of human rights violations," she said.

Samar highlighted "indiscriminate" and "disproportionate" bombing of civilians by Sudanese forces in the east of Darfur, as well as ongoing sexual violence and a wave of arbitrary arrests and disappearances.

The United Nations says up to 300,000 people have died, and more than 2.2 million have fled their homes, since the Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003. Sudan says 10,000 have been killed.

Rape, serious assaults and beatings against women remain widespread in Darfur, with many cases going unreported as police are loath to take action against perpertrators, Samar said.

She urged greater support for the small UN mission in Sudan, known by its acronym UNMIS, which has been accused of failing to protect civilians during heavy armed clashes in the oil-rich town of Abyei in May.

Thousands of civilians fled their homes during the fighting, during which Sudanese troops reportedly went on a looting and burning spree, leaving at least 68 people dead.

"The United Nations did not have the means to contain two major armies with heavy weaponry and intervene as forcefully as they might have wanted to," Samar said.

"In the wake of the events in Abyei, it is essential that the United Nations provide clearer and more practically applicable guidance on how exactly UNMIS implements issues of protection of civilians under its mandate."

Special rapporteurs are unpaid experts who are mandated by the Human Rights Council to provide it with independent assessments and recommendations regarding particular human rights hotspots.