As many as 300,000 people may have died in Sudan’s western Darfur region in a conflict the international community is doing too little to stop, a British parliamentary report said on Wednesday. The report also urged the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions on Sudan, extend its arms embargo and refer war criminals to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“The world’s failure to protect the people of Darfur from the atrocities committed against them by their own government is a scandal,” said Tony Baldry, chairman of the cross-party International Development Committee.

The committee said it believes around 300,000 people may have died, far higher than previous death tolls which it said had underestimated the scale of the disaster.

It said it based its figure on estimates from U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland who has said the death toll is much greater than a previous World Health Organisation estimate.

The U.N. health body estimates that 70,000 people died from hunger and disease in Darfur between March and October 2004, but with hard figures difficult to get, the toll has been fiercely contested.

A rebellion has raged in Darfur for more than two years, prompting 2 million to flee their homes.

Sudan’s government admits arming some militias to quell the rebellion but denies links to Arab militias known as Janjaweed who are accused of raping, killing and looting.

The committee supports targeted U.N. sanctions on Sudan and recommends the United Nations extend an arms embargo, currently aimed at non-governmental entities in Sudan, to the government.

The Security Council voted on Tuesday to impose a travel ban and an asset freeze on those responsible for atrocities against civilians in Darfur or those who violate the ceasefire.

But Council members remain deadlocked over where to try perpetrators of atrocities. France has introduced a resolution that would send those suspected of war crimes in Darfur to the ICC. But the United States may veto that.

The report urged the British government to press the United States to give up its opposition to using the ICC.

The committee also urged governments to put more pressure on Sudan to improve policing.

And it said the African Union’s 2,000-strong ceasefire monitoring force needs a stronger mandate and more troops.

“As a first next-step, the AU should do more pro-actively to police the no-fly zone…and be provided with the logistical and technical support to enable it to fulfil its mandate,” according to the report.

Parliamentary committees have no legislative power, but their recommendations can put pressure on governments.