UN draft resolution calls for dispatch before May 30 of UN and AU advance teams to assess Darfur

May 13, 2006 Gulf Times/dpa report excerpt:

UN Security Council members yesterday discussed a draft resolution demanding that Sudan and African rebel groups help speed up the start of a UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

The draft called for the dispatch before May 30 of UN and African Union advance teams to assess the situation in Darfur after last week's signing of a peace agreement in Abuja, Nigeria, to end the ethnic conflict in Darfur. - DPA

May 11 2006 UN Sudan Tribune May 12: US suggests May 30 deadline to start preparation for UN force takeover in Darfur

May 12 2006 Reuters (Irwin Arieff): Security Council pushes Sudan over UN Darfur force - The resolution would also urge the government and Darfur rebels to work with AU and UN officials "to accelerate transition to a United Nations operation. The council planned to wait to vote until after a Monday meeting in Addis Ababa of the AU Peace and Security Council, where a decision was due on whether -- and, if so, when -- to shift to a UN mission in Darfur, diplomats said.

May 12 2006 Reuters (Sue Pleming): US confident Sudan will agree to UN force

May 13 2006 Associated Press: US runs into strong resistance at UN over Sudan resolution - China and Russia, two veto-wielding members of the council, oppose that even the new draft is written under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which could make it legally binding and enforceable by sanctions.