S/PV.7475 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of the Sudan to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2015/482, the text of a draft resolution submitted by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I also wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2015/378, the report of the Secretary-General on the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). The Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

The draft resolution received 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2228 (2015). I now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements.

The Russian delegation voted in favour of the adoption of resolution 2228 (2015) on the extension of the mandate of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), based on the important stabilizing role of that hybrid mission in Darfur. For us, it is also of principal importance that the resolution reaffirms the role of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur of 2011 as a sound basis for a settlement in Darfur. That is no coincidence. After all, the Doha Document is not only being successfully implemented in practice, but it has also become an integral component of the Constitution of the Sudan. It is with satisfaction that we know that the Security Council again clearly spoke in favour of the mediation role of the head of UNAMID between the Government of the Sudan and the Darfur rebels on the basis of that document. At the same time, the Security Council has spoken out against attempts to devalue the Doha peace process and to replace it with a type of comprehensive settlement formula for the conflict in the Sudan based on a position, which is supported abroad, that assumes a regime change in Khartoum. The parties with an influence on the Darfur insurgents should urge them to become rapidly involved in the Doha peace process, just as, for example, groups in Mali were urged to join the peace and reconciliation agreement. The time is now right to think about the Doha Document’s implementation by the irreconcilable insurgents, otherwise Council sanctions should be targeted at them. We note with satisfaction that the Council has stressed the key role of the Joint Working Group and the representatives of the Sudan, the United Nations and the African Union in elaborating a strategy for winding down the mission in Darfur. That would be in keeping with the basic principles of peacekeeping, which includes the agreement and consent of the host country, as well as the deployment and operation of peacekeeping operations. The Security Council and the United Nations Secretariat must very carefully consider the Working Group’s recommendations for the future. Those recommendations will, inter alia, determine the relationship between the Government of the Sudan and UNAMID.

Chad welcomes the unanimous adoption of resolution 2228 (2015). The adoption has taken place at a particularly crucial moment in Darfur, where, despite the huge progress that has been achieved in the implementation of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, the region continues to confront a huge number of security and humanitarian challenges, to the detriment of innocent civilians. My delegation hopes that the resolution just adopted will serve as a starting point for the fostering of exemplary cooperation and mutual trust between the Government of the Sudan and African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). Such trust and cooperation are indispensable if we are to help the Sudanese parties achieve future peace and stability in the region. My delegation also welcomes the fact that the Security Council, together with the African Union, has reiterated its support for the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur as being the only feasible framework for the promotion of peace and reconciliation in Darfur. In that regard, we call upon the Council to do everything possible to encourage the armed movements that are non-signatories to sign the Document without preconditions. We reiterate our full support to the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel, led by President Mbeki, for its work aimed at promoting a resumption of talks and bringing about an end to hostilities between the Government of the Sudan and armed groups. We also take note of the national dialogue initiative, which was again highlighted by President Omer Al-Bashir at his inauguration in April 2015 and which includes a promise of amnesty for the rebel groups that decide to participate in it. Chad invites all Sudanese stakeholders to take advantage of that opportunity to make progress on peace. There is no military solution to the Darfur crisis. Finally, Chad welcomes the fact that the resolution just adopted underlines the major role played by the joint working group between the United Nations, the African Union and the Sudanese Government on the disengagement of UNAMID and hopes that the mission will present to the Council, when appropriate, relevant recommendations through the Secretary-General.

China voted in favour of resolution 2228 (2015), which was just adopted. China has followed the issue of Darfur with great attention and appreciates the efforts made by the Sudanese Government to stabilize the situation in Darfur and promote the political process and economic and social development in Darfur. The international community should urge the parties concerned, especially the rebel forces in Darfur, to adhere to a path leading to a political solution, to participate in and implement the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur and to achieve an early and comprehensive solution to the question, so as to lay a foundation for the development and reconstruction of the region. China appreciates the work done by the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) in helping to stabilize the situation, promote peace talks and protect civilians. China has always maintained that a United Nations peacekeeping operation should fully respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country concerned, fully heed the views of the country concerned and, in keeping with changes in the local situation and actual needs, adjust its mandate and scale. The Security Council should attach importance to the position of the Sudanese Government on the need for an exit strategy to be formulated for UNAMID. We welcome and support the setting up of a joint working group on this issue between the United Nations Secretariat, the Sudanese Government and the African Union. We hope that the parties concerned will step up their consultations so as to achieve a reasonable plan that is acceptable to all for the phased withdrawal of UNAMID.

Today, as a Council, we have recognized and recommitted to Darfur. We have done so as we face intensifying levels of conflict and a continuing and brutal campaign waged by the Government of the Sudan and its associated militia. We have done so against a backdrop of massive displacements and reports of horrific crimes such as mass rapes. Those living in Darfur continue to be subject to having their homes and communities burned to the ground and their livelihoods systematically disrupted. We have seen more violent displacement of people in Darfur this past year than in the 10 previous years. Ten years ago, however, Darfur enjoyed a perch at the top of the international peace and security agenda. Today, the suffering of the people of Darfur has become less visible. Our attention has been diverted. The more than 2.5 million internally displaced people and the 4.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance today demand an urgent refocusing and recommitment to protecting the civilians threatened in Darfur and, as others have noted, to advancing peace. Today, we have unanimously renewed the peacekeeping mission sent to protect the people of Darfur from those who would do them harm. As we have reaffirmed in resolution 2228 (2015) adopted this morning, the Security Council has an enduring responsibility to evaluate our peacekeeping operations’ performance. That includes considering when and how a mission should end. It is, of course, prudent for the Council to know what it means for the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) — or any peacekeeping mission — to have completed its mission. Sadly, given the very high level of violence and the very large numbers of displaced persons, UNAMID’s presence is needed now more than ever, and resolution 2228 (2015) makes it clear that any refinement of the mission will be based on conditions on the ground and progress towards achieving the clearly identified benchmarks, now laid out in the annex to the mandate in the resolution. We call upon the Government of the Sudan and all armed groups to cooperate fully with UNAMID as it seeks to carry out the difficult and critical work of protecting civilians in Darfur against the backdrop of a serious deterioration in the security situation on the ground.

The United Kingdom welcomes the unanimous adoption of resolution 2228 (2015) renewing the mandate of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). The need for that mission is greater than ever. As Council members heard so powerfully in the Arria Formula meeting earlier this month, the region saw, this past year, the worst suffering for a decade. Darfur now has more than 2.5 million long-term displaced people. The Sudan has the greatest number of internally displaced persons in Africa. Millions go hungry, and humanitarian access is too often limited by parties to the conflict. We remain deeply concerned at the growing reports of abuses and violations of human rights, including those that emerged from Tabit last year. Let us now set aside our differences and give our full support to UNAMID, so that it can continue its vital mission. UNAMID should now focus on improving its protection of civilians, conflict mediation and support for a peace process. We welcome that it will continue its important human rights role. Serious and unanswered allegations of abuses and violations of human rights have dogged the Sudan for over a decade. We encourage UNAMID to monitor, verify and draw the attention of the authorities to those reports as a matter of priority. UNAMID cannot continue forever. Through the resolution just adopted, we have set out that UNAMID’s long-term planning should be based on progress towards a set of agreed benchmarks. A political solution to the conflict, starting with a cessation of hostilities, is fundamental to achieving those targets. We call on all parties to the conflict to work together towards that goal. As the African Union Peace and Security Council set out in its communiqué, we hope that the Government of the Sudan will play a more constructive role with UNAMID. We all share the objective of a peaceful, stable and prosperous Sudan. Ultimately, a well- functioning mission that is able to fulfil its mandate will be in a position to leave safely much sooner, in the best interests of all parties. However, until the Government of the Sudan and the United Nations are working together to resolve the terrible situation in Darfur, we cannot consider an imminent exit for the mission. We simply cannot afford to lose focus. In renewing UNAMID’s mandate for another year, we have taken the right step to prevent that from happening.

The delegation of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela voted in favour of resolution 2228 (2015), as we believe that the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), in coordination with the Government of the Sudan, plays an important role in the strategy aimed at achieving peace and stability in Darfur, including the protection of civilians, in accordance with the mandate of that mission. We welcome the role of UNAMID in promoting peace and stability in Darfur within the framework of the search for sustainable and peaceful solutions to the conflict, with the full participation of the parties and the support of regional and subregional partners. In that vein, we express our full support for the implementation of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, which provides a framework that could serve as a basis for negotiations between the parties to the conflict. Lastly, we hope that the joint working group will soon resume its discussions on a road map for the gradual transfer of the tasks of UNAMID to the Government in Khartoum and the United Nations country team in the Sudan, for presentation to the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council.

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

I would like to begin by reiterating our warm congratulations, Mr. President, on your assumption of the presidency of the Council this month, during which consultations were held on the Secretary-General’s report on the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) (S/2015/378). Those consultations coincided with the discussions on the resolution on the extension of the mandate of UNAMID (resolution 2228 (2015). I would like to take this opportunity to thank those States that made every effort at the consultations to produce a balanced text that takes into account the positive developments in Darfur by sending a clear message to the remaining rebel groups to listen to reason and to engage resolutely and unconditionally in the political peace process on the basis of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, which includes the Government’s guarantees that those groups’ leaders will be able to participate inclusively and transparently in the national dialogue. While we welcome the positive paragraphs contained in the resolution, we would affirm the importance of the regular review of peacekeeping operations, which requires the Secretary-General to present recommendations on the future of UNAMID and the mission’s exit strategy, in response to paragraph 7 of resolution 2173 (2014), through which the mission’s mandate was renewed last year, and in consultation with the Government of the Sudan and the African Union. Other paragraphs affirm the importance of the efforts of the Joint United Nations-African Union Special Representative for Darfur to ensure that those groups that have so far rejected peace sign the Doha Document, in order to give the process a global character. We also welcome the Council’s condemnation of any actions by any armed group aimed at the forcible overthrow of the Government of the Sudan, and the paragraphs that affirm the Council’s support for the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur. We reiterate our gratitude to those fraternal States that played a leading role in ensuring that such paragraphs were included in the resolution. At the same time, we have reservations regarding the fact that certain paragraphs of the resolution, alleging a deterioration in the humanitarian and security situation, were simply copied from the previous resolution (resolution 2223 (2015), giving the impression that all five provinces of Darfur are currently a theatre of open war with the armed groups. Such an impression is incorrect. While we admit, of course, that such tribal clashes as the latest incidents involving the Ma’aliya and Rezeigat groups in East Darfur have occurred in certain regions, resulting in the flight and displacement of citizens, they must be viewed in their true context, and we cannot therefore speak of a deterioration in the humanitarian situation owing to such clashes. In the same way, we strenuously object to the seventh preambular paragraph of the resolution, expressing the Council’s concern about the assertion in the Secretary- General’s report that UNAMID has collected evidence of two cluster bombs near Kirigiyati, North Darfur. The Secretary-General emphasizes in his report that an inquiry into the incident is being conducted, and it is therefore unacceptable for the resolution to contain a preambular paragraph on the matter. The same goes for the paragraphs mentioning obstacles to the work of UNAMID. As I highlighted when I last addressed the Security Council on the subject (see S/PV.7460), the Secretary-General states in his report that 595 UNAMID-related visas were granted during the reporting period. We would remind delegations that UNAMID has 17,428 staff members, excluding its civilian component, and that the occasional delay in the granting of visas to a few dozen individuals, or in the granting of internal movement permits, should not lead us to ignore the positive developments or to speak of obstacles to the freedom of movement of UNAMID staff. In accordance with paragraphs 26 and 27 of the resolution, relating to the UNAMID exit strategy, the joint working group on the matter must immediately resume its activities in line with the agreement we reached during the last round of talks, to the effect that West Darfur and four regions of Central Darfur are stable, and the first stage of the UNAMID exit strategy should therefore be implemented there. We would remind the Council that the UNAMID military and police presence in those areas is now irrelevant and should be replaced by United Nations agencies and programmes responsible for development and reconstruction. We reiterate the complete commitment of the Government of the Sudan to full cooperation and coordination with UNAMID, particularly because the next stage is extremely important. We repeat our call for the Security Council to play its role in relation to those parties that refuse to join the Doha peace process and would remind the Council that it needs to send the right messages to end the violence.