International action on Sudan

   The United States has been pressing hard for international action on Sudan where government-sponsored militia have been fighting with rebels in Darfur. Washington has described the situation in Darfur, where tens of thousands have been killed, as genocide - a word the UN itself has avoided. On Tuesday night, the US successfully sponsored a Security Council resolution that will impose a travel ban and a freeze of assets on those individuals who violate the ceasefire or who commit atrocities. The resolution would also forbid the Khartoum government from carrying out offensive military flights into Darfur.

But the US is still locked in a dispute with other nations over how to deal with those accused of committing war crimes in Sudan. On Wednesday, France is expected to push for a Security Council vote that would open the way for the International Criminal Court in The Hague to oversee trials. The US has opposed such a move. Washington does not back the ICC out of a fear that the court could be used to prosecute US citizens for political reasons. But if France pushes ahead with the vote, it could force the US into a difficult position. America will not want to be accused of blocking international action aimed at bringing war criminals to justice. 

Vocabulary:

genocide: the mass killing of a whole race or community of people

a freeze of assets: to freeze someone's assets means to make their bank accounts and other finances unavailable

violate the ceasefire: break the agreement to stop fighting

atrocities: acts of great cruelty or evil

offensive military flights: offensive can be used to mean unpleasant or causing offence. Here, in a military context, it means flights to attack the opposition

locked in a dispute: if you are locked in a dispute, you are heavily involved in a disagreement which is difficult to resolve

to push for: to strongly argue in favour of

to oversee: to watch to make sure something is done correctly. Here, to ensure that the trials are fair

back: to back something means to support or encourage it, sometimes with money

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