China urges restraints on Darfur issue

From China Daily (Xinhua) March 21, 2009
China urges restraints on Darfur issue

UNITED NATIONS -- China on Friday called for the parties concerned to exercise restraint and adopt a comprehensive solution to the issue of Darfur, so as to prevent the escalation of tension.



Photo: A truck loaded with new refugees enters Zamzam refugee camp, outside the Darfur town of al-Fasher, Sudan, Thursday, March 19, 2009. [Agencies]

"The issue of Darfur is multi-faceted and complex," Liu Zhenmin, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the council in a public meeting. It encompasses areas such as political process, deployment of peacekeepers, humanitarian relief, judicial justice and economic reconstruction, he said.

Some of the recent events have shown that the issuance by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of an arrest warrant to the Sudanese leader has already "adversely affected the situation in Darfur," he said.

"It is our hope that the parties concerned will exercise restraint to prevent the escalation of tension so as to avoid any new negative impact on the political process, deployment of peacekeepers and humanitarian assistance in Darfur," he said.

He urged the UN Security Council to have "a comprehensive discussion on the issue of Darfur to develop an integrated strategy," and move ahead all work "in a balanced way in order to seek a comprehensive solution to the issue."

In early March, the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the country's restive western region of Darfur between 2003 and 2008.

The Sudanese government reiterated several times that the ICC has no jurisdiction over Sudan because the country is neither a member of the tribunal nor a party which ratified the Rome Statute that set up the tribunal.