S/PV.6910 Security Council

Under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of the Sudan to participate in this meeting. Under rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite Mr. Edmond Mulet, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2013/22, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur. I now give the floor to Mr. Mulet.

I would like to thank the Security Council for providing me with this opportunity to present the latest report of the Secretary- General on the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) (S/2013/22), which was issued on 10 January, as well as to share with the Council the most recent developments in the political, security and humanitarian situation in Darfur. At the political level, negotiations began on 20 January between the Government of the Sudan and the faction headed by Mohammad Bashar of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), under the auspices of the Joint Chief Mediator ad interim, Aïchatou Mindaoudou Souleymane, and the State of Qatar. The parties are expected to sign in the near future a framework calendar to guide the negotiations leading to the adoption of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur. From 10 to 14 January, the mediation team organized a capacity-building workshop for the JEM- Bashar delegation. The African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur provided experts to support the mediation efforts, in particular on matters related to a ceasefire agreement, security arrangements and gender matters. On the implementation of the Doha Document for Peace, following the appointment of 46 of the 67 members of the Council of the Darfur Regional Authority in October 2012, the Council was formally inaugurated on 16 January in Nyala, in the province of South Darfur. The Council of the Darfur Regional Authority is chiefly responsible for evaluating the performance of the Authority, guaranteeing that it is well managed and reviewing laws having to do with the Authority’s responsibilities. During the inauguration of the Council, the First Vice President of the Republic of the Sudan, Mr. Ali Osman Taha, renewed the commitment of the Government to the peace process and announced a parliamentary budgetary decision to allocate 800 million Sudanese pounds, the equivalent of approximately $181 million, to support the peace process in Darfur. As outlined in the report of the Secretary-General, the Darfur Joint Assessment Mission finalized its evaluation of economic recovery, development and poverty eradication needs before the Darfur donor conference. From 13 to 21 December, the Chairman of the Darfur Regional Authority, Mr. Tigani Seisi, led a delegation that included representatives of the Government of the Sudan to Belgium, Italy and Spain, to seek support for the donor conference. In addition, on 25 December, President Omer Al-Bashir issued a decree establishing a committee to examine the current conditions in which aid organizations are working in the Sudan. Members of the committee include representatives of the National Humanitarian Aid Commission, the Darfur Regional Authority, the national security and intelligence forces and the Ministries for Foreign Affairs, Defence and the Interior. Nevertheless, UNAMID and humanitarian partners have still not seen improvements in humanitarian access on the ground. (spoke in English) I am seriously concerned about the increase in hostilities between the Government and armed movements and by the rising intercommunal violence taking place in some parts of Darfur, and the associated impact on the civilian population. Further to the military clashes described in the report before the Council, on 31 December local community sources reported that Sudan Liberation Army-Abdul Wahid forces had ambushed a Government military convoy near Guldo, approximately 23 kilometres north- east of Nertiti, in western Jebel Marra, resulting in the capture of Government military vehicles and in military casualties. Fighting reportedly continued in the area on 2, 7 and 9 January, including — according to local sources — bombing by Sudanese Armed Forces aircraft. Throughout that period, UNAMID and humanitarian access to Golo and Guldo remained obstructed by forces of the Government and armed movements. Humanitarian agencies thereafter verified the arrival of 5,000 displaced persons to Nertiti as a result of the hostilities. UNAMID facilitated humanitarian needs assessments and transported emergency aid to Nertiti. Intercommunal violence flared up in early January when the Beni Hussein tribe and Aballa camel-herding tribes clashed in Jebel Amer, in El Sereif locality, 40 kilometres north-west of Kabkabiya, North Darfur, over access to a gold mine administered by the Beni Hussein group. On 4 January, a group of Aballa tribesmen reportedly initiated mining activities without the approval of the local mining committee charged with overseeing mining operations in the area. An altercation ensued, resulting in the killing of one Aballa tribesman and injuries to three members of the committee. Shortly thereafter, the Aballa mobilized militia and entered the mining area by force. Up to 100 hundred people are reported to have been killed, 47 people injured and an estimated 25 villages destroyed. Some 60,000 civilians were displaced including 10,000 to Kabkabiya, 8,000 to Saraf Umra and 25,000 to El Sereif. Several thousand displaced mine workers were transported by Government authorities back to their places of origin in other states. UNAMID transported state authorities, including the Wali of North Darfur and a delegation from the Darfur Regional Authority, to the area to intervene and initiate reconciliation talks between the tribes. It also provided special flights to airlift civilian casualties. Beni Hussein militias blocked attempts by UNAMID to gain access to the area where the fighting began. On 13 and 14 January UNAMID and humanitarian agencies conducted a humanitarian needs assessment in areas of displacement. Thereafter, UNAMID transported aid and provided security escorts to humanitarian agencies for the delivery of more than 44 tons of urgently needed non-food items. Following the intervention by Government authorities and UNAMID, tribal leaders declared a ceasefire on 17 January and committed to a reconciliation conference planned for April. However, sporadic clashes between the tribes have continued in the Jebel Amer area and, more recently, on 19 January, in and around Foro Baranga, in central Darfur. UNAMID will continue to conduct confidence-building patrols to affected areas and to engage with traditional leaders and Government authorities to stabilize the security situation. With regard to the safety and security of UNAMID and humanitarian personnel working in Darfur, I am pleased to report that, on 2 January, with the support of the Government of the Sudan, the two UNAMID formed police unit personnel who were abducted in Kabkabiya, North Darfur, on 20 August 2012, were released unharmed, after 136 days in captivity. We continue to urge the Government of the Sudan to hold the kidnappers and the perpetrators of other attacks against UNAMID and humanitarian personnel working in Darfur accountable. I am equally relieved to report that the three UNAMID national staff members who were arrested on 24 and 25 December 2012 by national security officers in Nyala, South Darfur, were released on 22 January. All charges against them were dropped. Despite that positive development, we urge the Government of the Sudan to respect the immunities afforded United Nations personnel working in Darfur in order to enable them to implement the Mission’s mandate in an impartial manner. (spoke in French) The security situation in some parts of Darfur, particularly in the west of Jebel Marra and in North Darfur, has worsened gradually since my last briefing to the Council, in October 2012 (see S/PV.6853). UNAMID has undertaken measures to bolster civilian protection in those areas, including by strengthening its early-warning and rapid-response capacities. The goal of achieving a comprehensive and sustainable peace in Darfur nevertheless requires of the Government of the Sudan a holistic settlement of the issues of political and economic marginalization affecting not only Darfur but also the Sudan as a whole. Along the same lines, parties, including all armed movements and the Government of the Sudan, must put an end to hostilities and commit to addressing grievances through peaceful dialogue. The full implementation of the provisions of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur includes the holding of consultations and an internal political dialogue in Darfur, which must provide an opportunity to deal with the causes of the conflict while contributing to an improvement of the security situation on the ground. In that respect, the full support of the international community remains necessary to keep the attention of the Sudanese Government, the Darfur Regional Authority and the signatory and non-signatory armed movements focused on the need to achieve a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

I thank Mr. Mulet for his briefing. I now give the floor to the representative of the Sudan.

At the outset, I would like to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for this month, especially since you are from a friendly country that makes a much-appreciated contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security. The best proof of that is that during your presidency the Council has held important events, the most recent of which was the open debate on a multidimensional approach to peacekeeping operations (see S/PV.6903). Pakistan is a country with extensive experience in peacekeeping, as it has been one of the biggest troop- contributing countries to United Nations peacekeeping operations for many decades. I would also like to express our appreciation to Mr. Mulet, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations. We thank him for his briefing to the Council. The report before the Council on the situation in Darfur (S/2013/22) clearly indicates that a state of security and stability prevails in Darfur’s five provinces. We would like to highlight paragraph 2 of the report, where it states that the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur is moving ahead on various axes, following the Darfur Regional Authority’s full assumption of its responsibilities. The Authority is being managed by the people of Darfur themselves, and has started to implement projects pertaining to resettlement of returnees, development, reconstruction and economic recovery, not to mention the fact that preparations for holding a stakeholder conference for internally displaced persons and refugees have almost been completed. In the meantime, the Chairman of the Authority, Mr. Seise, is currently on a tour to some donor States, including the Republic of Korea and Japan. He will also visit other States that are permanent members of the Security Council in order to prepare for the donor conference on Darfur. The report also states that measures have been completed to appoint members to the Darfur Regional Authority’s Executive Council, which is made up of 67 members. In the formation of that Council, several seats were left vacant, in anticipation of the possibility that certain representatives of movements who are expected to sign the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur might do so. We would like to note that Doha, the capital of Qatar, is currently hosting a meeting with representatives of some of those movements, which have left the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and, responding to the voice of reason, decided to join the political process to pave the way towards signing the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur. We hope that those efforts will be successful soon. It is worth noting that the implementation of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, especially in terms of justice and reconciliation, has gone ahead. In that connection, we would like to highlight paragraph 6 of the report of the Secretary-General before the Council, which notes that the office of the national special prosecutor for crimes committed in Darfur has commenced its work and opened investigations into 10 cases. Those cases pertain to crimes committed in Darfur over the past few years. That is a good start. I would also like to note that, among the cases before the national special prosecutor are cases in which peacekeepers and humanitarian workers were attacked. One of the most prominent cases under consideration now is the October 2012 attack on the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) caravan. Many suspects allegedly involved in that attack have been detained. I would also like to note the joint efforts by the Government of the Sudan and the Voluntary Return and Resettlement Commission of the Darfur Regional Authority in resettling people, in the light of the increased number of voluntary returns from camps, now that security and stability have been established. Allow me to correct some inaccurate information contained in the report before the Council, in particular with respect to the protection of civilians. The report notes in many instances what it calls renewed clashes between Government forces and rebel movements that have not signed the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, when most of those incidents are actually strictly tribal clashes in which the Government only intervened to maintain order, enforce the State’s authority and help with tribal reconciliation by coordinating with elders and tribal chiefs. In that context, I would like to highlight the bloody confrontation mentioned by Mr. Mulet that took place in the area of Jebel Amer in North Darfur. That was no more than an armed confrontation between the two tribes of the sons of Amer and Beni Hussein over areas of traditional gold-mining activity. As the Council knows, Jebel Amer is an area where people extract gold using local, traditional methods. Yet the report before the Council states that the Sudanese Armed Forces bombed a gold mine, which is not true. That incident confirms that the root causes of the conflict in Darfur continue to be the competition over resources. It started with competition over land, water and grazing areas, and now, after precious minerals such as gold were discovered, the tribes are competing over precious metals. The report submitted by the Secretary-General also makes clear the extent of the cooperation that UNAMID is receiving from the central and provincial Sudanese authorities. The report notes, in paragraph 34, that, with a few exceptions, the Government of the Sudan approved all 3,938 flight requests submitted by UNAMID. That confirms that the Government is keen on facilitating the movement of the Mission, except in a very few instances in which the Mission might be in danger or where there might be military activity on the part of the rebels. The same is true of the requests made for travel permits for UNAMID convoys, as the authorities involved do not object in principle to any movement by the mission. However, as I have mentioned, certain areas are very dangerous, because rebel movements target UNAMID convoys. In that context, the Government of the Sudan and its Mission in New York reiterate that we will continue our cooperation with UNAMID in all areas relating to the performance of its duties. Just yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the new Joint Special Representative for UNAMID and head of UNAMID in Darfur. I discussed with him all aspects of the situation in Darfur, starting with the root causes of the conflict and the efforts and policies of the State aimed at arriving at a negotiated, permanent solution to the conflict. I assured him that we would cooperate with him to the extent possible and in a manner that would guarantee the safety, security and unity of the Sudan. At the end of the meeting, I noted that in that context we hoped that all members of UNAMID would abide by the principle of neutrality, which is enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. I also noted that the Government of the Sudan, like other countries, would not allow anyone who is involved or has been proved to be involved in activities that threaten security in the country to enter into the Sudan, and that the relevant authorities had the right to deny them entry into the country. In conclusion we reiterate our long-standing view that the Security Council must urgently and resolutely take all of the necessary measures against those who reject peace among the leaders of the armed rebel movements in Darfur and who continually seek to obstruct the implementation of the Doha Document for Peace. We hope to see additional measures taken and that stronger messages will be sent to those armed rebel groups that reject peace. We expect the Security Council to take action against them by imposing sanctions. Also in that context, we deem it important for the Council to compel the State of South Sudan to disengage and dissociate itself immediately from the rebel movements in the Sudan, including the ones in Darfur, that reject the Doha Document. The rebel movements in Darfur continue to conduct military operations in the border areas and in South Darfur. They have been launching attacks from South Sudan, which continues to sponsor those rebel movements and to provide them with logistical and political support, in blatant violation of the Charter of the United Nations and resolution 2046 (2012), whose main demand is an immediate halt to the provision of support to the rebel movements by any country. I wish, in concluding, to note that even as the Government of the Sudan is working hard to arrive at a peaceful solution to the conflict in Darfur and other areas, some are attempting to obstruct those efforts. In that connection, I would like to note the destructive role recently played by Uganda when it openly hosted in Kampala, on 5 January, a meeting of a coalition of armed rebel groups opposing the Government of the Sudan. That meeting included the rebel movements in Darfur as well as the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement- North, as well as some other political factions. Uganda gave that coalition support and assistance. As I said earlier, we have provided the Council with the details of that meeting. We ask it to hold Uganda fully responsible for having placed obstacles in the path of the peace process in Darfur, and the same applies to South Sudan.

I now give the floor to Mr. Mulet to make a further statement. Mr. Mulet: At the beginning of my briefing today, I reported that, since 20 January, some negotiations had been under way in Doha between the Government and one faction of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) under the auspices of Ms. Aïchatou Mindaoudou Souleymane, Deputy Joint Special Representative of the Secretary-General and mediator. I am pleased to report that, just a few minutes ago, the negotiating parties in Doha — the Government of the Sudan and the JEM of Mohammed Bashir — signed a framework agreement that sets out the basis on which the parties will negotiate on the adoption of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur. I thought that that information was pertinent for the members of the Council.

I now give the floor to the representative of the Sudan to make a further statement.

I take the floor to thank Mr. Mulet for the statement he just made, which confirms to all members of the Council the progress that the peace process is making in the Sudan as many rebel movements join the march towards peace on a daily basis.

There are no more names inscribed on the list of speakers. I now invite Council members to informal consultations to continue our discussion on the subject.