China urges UN-AU joint action in Sudan

By Zhang Haizhou and Li Xiaokun (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-28 09:21

China said on Friday that the right solution for the Darfur problem would be to push forward a joint operation between the United Nations and the African Union, but not arrest the Sudanese president.

"Currently, the international community should push forward the joint operation and political process to ensure humanitarian intervention goes on wheel in the Darfur region," Vice President Xi Jinping said, at a meeting with Awad Al-Jaz, special envoy of the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, in Beijing.

The joint operation in Darfur, coded UNAMID, was authorized by UN Security Council resolution 1769 on July 31 2007.

The mobilization and deployment of the UNAMID is scheduled to run till July 31 this year.

Xi urged the rest of the world to "listen carefully" to the AU and the Arabic countries, so as to not "harm" peace and stability in Sudan.

In response Al-Jaz said his home country would be cooperative in the deployment of UNAMID's peacekeepers, but won't accept the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant against President al-Bashir.

"Sudan will continue cooperation with the UN and the AU, and take concrete measures to improve the humanitarian situation in the Darfur region," Al-Jaz said, wishing an early solution to the problem.

Al-Jaz's visit is part of the efforts made by Khartoum to defy the ICC's arrest warrant earlier this month.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity in the country's restive western region of Darfur between 2003 and 2008.