By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent

United Nations -- Condemning the violence and human rights abuses against the people of Sudan's Darfur region, the Security Council July 30 adopted a resolution demanding that Sudan disarm the implicated Jinjaweit militia and fully protect civilians or face the possibility of Article 41 sanctions.

The resolution, passed under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, which provides for enforcement, also imposed an arms embargo on the Jinjaweit in the Darfur region, and forbade all states to provide any military or weapons training to those militias.

The U.S.- drafted measure, Resolution 1556, was adopted by a vote of 13 to 0, with China and Pakistan abstaining.

U.S. Ambassador John Danforth said, "The Government of Sudan has left us no choice. It has done the unthinkable. It has fostered an armed attack on its own civilian population. It has created a humanitarian disaster. So the resolution just adopted is our necessary response if we are to help save the people of Darfur."

"Some say that we should give the Government of Sudan more time before we pass this resolution. The United States does not agree," the ambassador said. "On July 3, the government issued a joint communiqué with the secretary-general. That was nearly four weeks ago."

The resolution, "in stern and unambiguous terms, puts the Government of Sudan on notice that it must fulfill the commitment it made on July 3. Sudan must know that serious measures -- international sanctions -- are looming, if the government refuses to do so," Danforth said.

The ambassador warned Sudan not to think that "time is on its side, that with the passage of time, other crises will supplant Darfur on the world stage; that our attention will be fleeting."

"This resolution guarantees that Darfur will be before the Security Council and before the world next month, and the month after that, and for as long as it takes to ensure that the people of Darfur will live in peace," he said.

As the council was preparing the resolution on July 29, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said reports were still coming in about continuing intimidation, threats and attacks by government security personnel against the internally displaced in Darfur, including arrests and beatings of several community leaders.

Annan said he was "particularly disturbed by reports of rape by Jinjaweit militias in West Darfur and severe harassment of displaced persons in several camps in North Darfur, including Zam Zam camp," which he had visited on June 30.

After the vote July 30, the secretary-general welcomed the adoption of the resolution and said he looks forward to its "swift and sustained implementation by the Government of Sudan."

Annan said he "hopes that the resolution will ensure that concerted action is taken to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur, and urges all actors to play their part in protecting the civilian population and improving the desperate plight of the people of the region."

Danforth said that many criticized the resolution for not going far enough and calling the atrocities in Darfur genocide. "Perhaps they are right," he said. "But it is important that we not become bogged down over words. It is essential that the Security Council act quickly, decisively, and with unity. We need to fix this humanitarian problem now."

The resolution calls on the Government of Sudan to fulfill immediately all the commitments it made in the July 3 communiqué agreed to during the visit of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

-- Allow humanitarian aid into the region,

-- Disarm the Jinjaweit and provide effective security for civilians,

-- Undertake human-rights investigations, and

-- Resume political talks with dissident groups in the Darfur region.

It asks the secretary-general to report to the council in 30 days and monthly thereafter on Khartoum's compliance with the terms of the resolution.

The council "expressed its intention" to consider further action, including measures outlined in Article 41 of the U.N. Charter, if Sudan fails to comply with the council's demands. Article 41 mentions such sanctions as an economic embargo, travel ban and the severance of diplomatic relations.

The resolution endorses the deployment of international monitors and a protection force and calls on Khartoum to work with the U.N. special envoy, Jan Pronk, to investigate human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law. It also urges the international community to provide much-needed aid to the region.

"The purpose of this resolution is to relieve the suffering of Darfur, not punish Sudan," Danforth said. "Indeed, the hope of my government, and I am sure, of every member of the council, is that Sudan fulfill its potential as a peaceful and stable nation, with diverse people living together in peace."

"The choice is up to the Government of Sudan," the U.S. ambassador said.