Russia/China: Darfur Report Not Legal

(Geneva, Switzerland) China and Russia are backing their Arab and Muslim friends on the Darfur issue.

China and Russia joined Arab and Muslim states on Friday in urging the U.N.'s human rights watchdog to ignore a report from a mission to Darfur that blamed Sudan for continuing war crimes against civilians there.

The two permanent United Nations Security Council members argued the mission, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jody Williams, last month failed to gain access to the vast western region of Sudan and had not fulfilled its mandate.

Despite warnings from Western and some African states that failure to act would undermine the credibility of the newly formed Human Rights Council, Muslim and Arab states and their allies backed Sudan's line that the report had no legal basis.

No surprise here. The Muslims thinks the situation in Darfur is just ducky and the Russians and Chinese sure don't want to anger their allies.