June 11, 2007 (LPAC)--The UN, AU, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Arab League, China, and Russia are working to prevent the May 29 unilateral US sanctions against Sudan, from derailing the process of negotiating a settlement of the conflict in Darfur between anti-government rebels and the government of Sudan.

The AU, the Security Council, and Sudan are today studying a draft accord at AU headquarters in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, after a meeting between UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and AU President Alpha Oumar Konare. According to a Prensa Latina release today, the Sudan government is expected to conclude discussion of the new version tomorrow, and give its response to the Security Council for consideration the day after that.

 Ban, who has made resolving the Darfur conflict a top priority, told reporters "we will have to wait to see" whether the new U.S. sanctions hamper his efforts to get Sudan's agreement for the "hybrid" force. He told reporters after Bush's announcement on Tuesday, "I need some more time."

On the day President Bush announced the sanctions, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said sanctions had never been successful in solving problems, and can't solve Sudan's Darfur issue, according to MENA, the official Egyptian news agency. "Negotiations and building bridges were the best way to solve conflicts," he said.

On the same day, Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa told reporters that "sanctions will only serve to increase tensions and will not lead to any solution for the complicated problems of Darfur," according to AFP. "The Sudanese people will be the first to be harmed by the sanctions.... Previous sanctions have not solved the problems but exacerbated them," he said. "There is still an opportunity to reach an agreement."

The Prensa Latina release reported that the 118-member Non-Aligned Movement expressed serious concern over the sanctions. On June 8, according to the Sudan Media Center, the Non-Aligned Movement denounced the sanctions as "unilateral" and in violation of UN tenets and principles. The NAM sent the communique to the UN Secretary General, demanding its circulation as one of the documents of the General Assembly and the Security Council. President of the NAM Coordination Bureau, Cuban Ambassador Rodrigo Malmierca circulated a statement at the United Nations voicing concern at the growing number of unilateral sanctions that violate the UN Charter and international laws.