NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      GENEVA (CWNews.com) - A Swiss-based Christian aid group on Thursday criticized the United Nations for failing to condemn Sudan's human rights record in a report on persecution around the world.

      "It is very disappointing that the international community has yet again failed hundreds of thousands of people in Sudan who face starvation from man-made famine," John Eibner of the Swiss-based Christian Solidarity International (CSI) said. His comments followed a meeting of the UN Sub-Committee on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities which condemned abuses in Kosovo and Iraq.

      Eibner said hundreds of people are dying every day in Sudan in government- and rebel-held areas because aid flights are being prevented from reaching the areas. He added that the Islamic government is using the situation against rebels in the mainly Christian and nativist south. "The UN itself has confirmed the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, but the sub-commission refuses to act," he said.