Special Rapporteur queries use of oil revenues

Gerhart Baum, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Sudan, called for documentation to verify how the Sudanese government uses its oil revenues in a report discussed yesterday at the UN General Assembly. "Oil exploitation has continued to have a negative impact on the human rights situation," Baum told delegates in New York yesterday. "There is no concrete evidence of oil revenues being spent for the development of the south, in spite of the fact that 40% of the national budget comes from oil." But Sudanese ambassador to the United Nations Elfatih Mohamed Ahmed Erwa rejected these claims saying that his government was using oil revenues to improve the infrastructure and social services throughout the country, particularly in the South. "The Government of Sudan categorically rejects the linking of oil exploration with human rights violations," Erwa said on in New York on Thursday. He added that Baum's request to see proof of the oil expenditures was a "breach of sovereignty." In his reply Baum said that in a war situation, such as that in Sudan, oil fields attracted aggression. The tensions resulted in victims, and people had no other options than to flee. Since internally displaced persons were part of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur he had a right to ask the Government, since it claimed to use the money for development purposes. In his address to the General Assembly Baum said that the overall human rights situation continued to be a matter of serious concern despite efforts made towards democratisation during the past three years. "I am particularly concerned at the recurrence of bombing of civilians, particularly in the Nuba Mountains and in Blue Nile State, which has continued unabated, thus severely hampering access to humanitarian aid," Baum said. He added that he had received reports of serious human rights violations by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and allied militias, particularly in the oil-rich Western Upper Nile. Baum was appointed to his post last December. He intends to visit the Sudan again in February or March next year.