S/PV.7022 Security Council

Pursuant to rule 37 of the provisional rules of procedure of the Council, I invite the representative of the Sudan and the representative of South Sudan to participate in today’s meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Following consultations among Council members, I have been authorized to make the following statement on their behalf: “The Security Council expresses its continued support for the efforts of the African Union (AU) to facilitate the Sudan’s and South Sudan’s implementation of their bilateral agreements and compliance with the requirements of the African Union road map and resolution 2046 (2012). The Council recalls in this regard the communiqué adopted by the ministerial meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council held on 29 July, the communiqué adopted by the AU and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on 22 July and the mechanisms outlined by the Chair of the AU High-level Implementation Panel, President Thabo Mbeki, in his 9 June letter to President Omar Hassan A. Al-Bashir and President Salva Kiir. It also welcomes the extension of the mandate of the African Union High-level Implementation Panel. “The Security Council expresses grave concern about continued challenges to the implementation of the 27 September 2012 cooperation agreements, and calls on all parties to urgently: implement fully and immediately the 27 September cooperation agreements and all other relevant agreements; make effective use of the joint and other mechanisms that have been established to do so; cooperate with the High-level Implementation Panel, the African Union and IGAD; and refrain from pursuing any actions that run counter to these objectives. “The Security Council recalls that resolution 2046 (2012), inter alia, prohibits both States from supporting any rebel groups operating against the other State and further recalls relevant agreements between the Sudan and South Sudan to that end. The Council welcomes the establishment and the commencement of work of the ad hoc investigative mechanism to look into allegations of such support and the commitment by both Governments to accept the mechanism’s findings. “The Security Council welcomes the creation of the AU border programme technical team to determine conclusively the safe demilitarized border zone centre line on the ground, and reiterates that the centre line in no way prejudices the current or future legal status of the border, ongoing negotiations on the disputed and claimed areas and demarcation of the border. The Council welcomes both Governments’ commitments to accept the technical team’s findings. “The Security Council urges the Governments of the Sudan and South Sudan to maintain dialogue to ensure continued transportation of oil from South Sudan, and the Government of the Sudan to suspend any actions to halt the transportation of oil from South Sudan to allow these mechanisms to complete their work. “The Security Council supports the African Union Peace and Security Council’s calls for full cooperation with the Abyei Area Joint Investigation and Inquiry Committee’s investigation into the killing of a United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei peacekeeper and the Ngok Dinka paramount chief. “The Security Council reiterates its grave concern about the highly volatile situation in the Abyei Area, and stresses that the parties must immediately implement pending aspects of the 20 June 2011 Agreement on Temporary Security and Administrative Arrangements for the Abyei Area, in particular to resolve the dispute over the Abyei Area Council and immediately establish the Abyei Area administration and Abyei police service. The Council recalls their decision in resolution 2046 (2012) that the parties must resume immediately negotiations to reach agreement on the Abyei final status under the auspices of the High-level Implementation Panel. In this regard, the Council calls for swift action to disarm communities in Abyei in accordance with the decision of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee to turn Abyei into a weapons-free zone, which it welcomed in resolution 2104 (2013). “The Security Council calls upon the Government of the Sudan and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North to cease hostilities and engage in direct talks to end the conflict in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. The Council also calls on all parties to refrain from any acts of violence against civilians, to expedite safe and unhindered humanitarian access for the timely and full delivery of humanitarian aid to all civilians in urgent need of assistance in accordance with relevant provisions of international law, including international humanitarian law and the United Nations guiding principles of humanitarian assistance, and to fully respect international human rights law and international humanitarian law. In this regard, it emphasizes that those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of international human rights law must be held accountable.” This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/2013/14. I now give the floor to the representative of the Sudan.

I would like to express our gratitude to your presidency of the Council this month, Madam President, and for the importance you have attached to the discussion of the presidential statement you have just read to us (S/PRST/2013/14). At the same time, we would like to thank all Council members who have participated in the discussions on the statement. We are satisfied with the content of several of the statement’s paragraphs, which welcomes the extension of the mandate of the African Union High-level Implementation Panel owing to the continued progress that has been made by the African Union through that mechanism. The extension of its mandate is directly due to those developments. In addition, we welcome the fact that the Council has referred in a positive light to the commencement of work by the African Union border programme technical team to delineate the border line, which is extremely important in determining the safe demilitarized border zone and which will probably resolve several outstanding issues between the two countries. In that regard, I reaffirm my country’s commitment to implementing the outcome of the work of the group that will be determining the demilitarized border zone. I would like to mention what is contained in the paragraph that addresses the situation in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states and the provision of assistance to those regions. I reiterate that the Government of the Sudan has always cooperated and will continue to cooperate to ensure that urgent assistance is provided to those two regions. The Council is surely also aware of that the obstacles and the non-delivery of such assistance is due to the fact that the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA)-North and some other parties have rejected the tripartite initiative of the African Union, the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which we have accepted. I would like to repeat that when the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General is able to convince the other party to implement that initiative, we will also be prepared to do the same. I would therefore have hoped that the Council would have been able to explain who the responsible party was for creating those obstacles, rather than putting the parties on an equal footing, which is not actually true in the case of the humanitarian situation in the regions of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. I had also hoped that, in that paragraph, the Council would have condemned the position of SPLA-North and referred to the other rebel groups that support it, as they have terrorized civilians and exposed them to killings and displacements in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. The fact that this was not explicitly mentioned could encourage the rebels to continue terrorizing civilians and exposing them to various types of violence, murder and displacement. I would have appreciated that. I thank the Council and would like to reiterate that we remain in contact with Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Joint Special Envoy for the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur, who is today beginning negotiations in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, to convince the rebels to join the peace process. We have reiterated at all levels that the Sudan intends to continue to negotiate with them in order for them to join the peace process and move towards stability and peace in the Sudan. That will have a positive effect not only on the Sudan but also on our brothers in South Sudan and the region as a whole. We therefore appeal to all the members of the Council that could make a difference to try to influence the rebels to come to the negotiating table so that we can peacefully resolve the conflict. I again thank the Council. Perhaps I will be able to take the floor again to shed light on certain points that may require it.

I now give the floor to the representative of South Sudan.

At the outset, please allow my delegation to express our sincere gratitude to the members of the Security Council for having afforded us this opportunity to come to this important meeting to discuss the Sudan and South Sudan and to say a few words with regard to the issues. As this is the first time that I take the floor, I would also like to wish you, Madam President, a successful presidency of the Council. My Government would like to take this opportunity to reiterate its commitment to working towards improving relations with the Republic of the Sudan in the promotion of two viable States. Furthermore, the Government is indeed pleased with the current progress being made with the Government of the Republic of the Sudan on the implementation of the cooperation agreements of 27 September, in compliance with the African Union road map on resolution 2046 (2012). We believe that this conducive environment will no doubt provide fertile ground for tangible progress in the bilateral relations between our two States. It has always been my Government’s contention that, given our historical links and our geographic borders of almost 2,000 kilometres  — one of the biggest in Africa  — the relationship between our two countries can be maintained only through peaceful coexistence in all spheres  — economic, social and political. We therefore hope that the signs of good relations that we are witnessing so far will continue. On the issue of Abyei, it is our belief that the people of Abyei have suffered long enough and that the time has come for them to exercise their inalienable rights within the time frame set out in the Abyei Protocol. We call on the members of the Security Council to continue to exert efforts to ensure that the two countries hold a referendum on Abyei in a timely manner, as well as perhaps to facilitate the necessary logistics required for carrying out the referendum. My delegation would like to conclude with that, but will be willing to take the floor later to intervene on other remaining issues to which we want to draw the Council’s attention.

The Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.