11 October 2004	Monday	25 Shaban 1425

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 10: A UN human rights expert on extra judicial killings, Ms Asma Jehangir, said in a report on Friday that she saw 'strong indications' during an official visit this summer to the strife-torn Sudanese region of Darfur that human rights violations there "could constitute crimes against humanity".

Ms Jehangir, UN secretary-general's special rapporteur on extra judicial killings, said she gathered 'a great number of testimonies' from internally displaced persons (IDPs) in camps and settlements across Darfur giving details of killings by the government-backed militias and the armed forces.

"There is a compelling need to carry out a comprehensive documentation of the incidents of extra judicial and summary executions in Darfur in order to bring the perpetrators of these grave violations to justice," she stated in her final report to the UN General Assembly.

Ms Jehangir said she could not verify the locations of some mass graves because of security concerns and time constraints. But she suspected crimes against humanity might have occurred, given the gravity and scale of the reports she received.

Turning to the global nature of executions, Ms Jehangir said: "There is no indication that the number of violations of the right to life has decreased during the period under review."

Ms Jehangir urges the abolition of all executions of children who are below the age of 18 when they commit the crime, welcoming the 'virtual consensus' on this issue. She also expresses particular concern that the force is being used disproportionately and arbitrarily as a means of countering the threat of terrorism.

Ms Jehangir recommends that countries where the death penalty is practised impose a moratorium on the punishment until they set up national commissions to determine whether they are observing all relevant safeguards and international standards.

"Governments should also keep up-to-date records relating to the death penalty and should make them available to the public. Members of civil society should be able to visit prisons where inmates sentence to death are detained," she stressed. In July, Australian lawyer Philip Alston was appointed by the UN Commission on Human Rights to succeed Ms Jehangir in the post.