UNITED NATIONS, (AFP) - The UN Security Council passed a resolution threatening to "envisage" sanctions against Sudan's oil industry unless the Khartoum government meets its commitment to restore security to its troubled Darfur province.
The vote on the 15-member council, taken in the presence of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, was 11-0, with China, Russia, Algeria and Pakistan abstaining.
Resolution 1564 warns that the Security Council "will envisage" sanctions, after consulting with the African Union, against Sudan's oil industry unless the Khartoum government makes good on its promise to protect the population of Darfur.
The resolution also called on Annan to set up an international commission to investigate charges of human rights violations in Darfur.
And it demanded that the Sudanese government avoid overflights of the Darfur region by its air force.
The council also voiced approval of Khartoum's recent demand for an increase in the African Union's observer mission in Darfur, which the council supports unanimously.
The resolution, initially tabled by the United States, was co-sponsored in its final, thrice-amended version by Germany, Spain, Britain and Romania.
China said it abstained from the vote because it objected to the mention, however veiled, of the threat of sanctions.
"Only a political solution will bring peace to the population of Darfur," Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya said after the vote. "My country's view is that instead of helping, sanctions only make things more complicated."
The secretary general, impatient with the security council's foot-dragging on the issue, had pounded the table with his fist on Thursday saying it was "urgent to act now."
Stressing that civilians remained the target of attacks by Arab militias in Darfur, Annan demanded the council act on the resolution without delay, and with maximum unity.
In Ottawa, the Canadian Foreign Ministry welcomed the vote.
"Canada welcomes this development at the Security Council. Sustained engagement from the international community is crucial to stop the crimes against humanity in Sudan and to disarm the militias," Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew said.
"Civilians need to be protected, humanitarian aid must keep flowing and those who have committed serious human rights violations in Darfur must be brought to justice."
The war in Darfur broke out in February 2003 when rebels rose up against Khartoum to demand an end to the political and economic marginalisation of their region, peopled mainly by black Africans.
Khartoum's response was to back Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, and give them free rein to crack down on the rebels and their backers. In the 19 months since the conflict began, some 50,000 people have been killed, according to UN estimates.