Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir said Sunday he isn't afraid of threatened sanctions by the United Nations.

"We are afraid neither of the UN nor of its resolution," el-Bashir was quoted as saying by state-run television.

Refugee camp in Darfur
Refugee camp in Darfur

At issue is the situation in Darfur, where more than a million Sudanese have been forced to flee their homes. Tens of thousands have died; either victims of violence or disease that spreads rapidly through the refugee camps.

Western governments and international aid agencies have accused government-backed Arab militias of burning and looting the villages of ethnic Africans and of raping or killing many inhabitants. The United States has gone so far as to allege genocide is being carried out.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour arrived in Khartoum on Sunday to begin a fact finding mission. The former justice of the Canadian Supreme Court says her primary goal is "to increase our capacity to offer protection, particularly the (to the) displaced people in these camps," she said.




Paul Heinbecker, former Canadian ambassador to the UN, says Arbour's mission carries a lot of weight. "She has effectively said to them, 'If you say you're taking steps to deal with terrible things which are going on in Sudan, if you really are trying to stop it, show me the evidence, don't just tell me you're doing them, show me the evidence.'"

But some believe the Sudanese government is complicit in the militia attacks on the refugees.

On Saturday, the UN Security Council passed a resolution that threatens sanctions, including an oil embargo, if Sudan doesn't crack down on the aggressors. But, four countries abstained, showing a split in the council.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew says it is time for Canada to step in and push for action from the UN, not only "in Darfur but elsewhere, [in] other hot spots. It is a Canadian responsibility to protect. I would think it is a doctrine that would be very useful if used more by the UN."

That is the message Prime Minister Paul Martin will be delivering when he visits the United Nations this week. He is said to be frustrated that political debates could be paralyzing immediate action to help the refugees in Darfur.