S/PV.8123 Security Council

At this meeting, the Security Council will hear a briefing by Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko, Permanent Representative of Ukraine, in his capacity as Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005), concerning the Sudan. I now give the floor to Ambassador Yelchenko.

In accordance with paragraph 3 (a) (iv) of resolution 1591 (2005), I have the honour to brief the Security Council on the work of the Sudan Sanctions Committee, covering the period from 25 July to 7 December 2017. I am pleased that this briefing is being provided in an open format, which further enhances the transparency of the work of the Committee. During this reporting period, the Committee discussed the first report of the Panel of Experts on the Sudan and took follow-up action on all of the recommendations contained in the report. The Committee also amended one entry on its sanctions list and received one quarterly update from the Panel of Experts. In addition, for the first time, the Committee held a joint meeting with the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011), concerning Libya, and the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2206 (2015), concerning South Sudan. On 8 August, the Panel submitted to the Committee its first report pursuant to paragraph 2 of resolution 2340 (2017). The Panel reported that no significant progress had been made in the Darfur peace process in its various tracks. The main sticking point was that the expectations of the Darfuri rebel groups exceeded the concessions that the Government was ready to make. The Panel also gave a detailed account of the armed incursions into Darfur by Darfuri armed groups from Libya and South Sudan in May this year. It was noted that the rebels suffered heavy losses, in terms of both equipment and personnel. A significant amount of military equipment and vehicles were destroyed or seized by the security forces. There were reports of violations of international humanitarian law during clashes between Government security forces and Darfuri armed groups. The Panel also observed that the Government of the Sudan continued to transfer military aircraft into Darfur without prior approval from the Committee. The Panel expressed concern about the ongoing disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme, which had failed to disarm militias. The Panel highlighted significant participation by Darfuri armed elements as mercenaries in the conflicts in Libya and South Sudan. On the Government’s cooperation with the Panel, the Panel acknowledged the positive cooperation of the Government during its missions to the Sudan, while noting that the finance expert continued to be denied a visa. On 8 September, the Committee met to hear a presentation by the Panel on its first report and to discuss the Panel’s recommendations. The Coordinator of the Panel attended the meeting in person, while two experts participated via video-teleconference. Several Committee members commended the Panel for the high quality of the report and welcomed increased cooperation between the Government of the Sudan and the Panel. Several Committee members underlined that the overall situation in Darfur had improved in a significant way. A press release was issued following the Committee’s meeting. Turning to the five recommendations that the Panel addressed to the Committee, the Committee agreed to the proposed follow-up action on the recommendations. As a follow-up to recommendation 1, the Committee tasked the Panel with drafting an Implementation Assistance Notice for the preparation of end-user documentation to ensure the proper implementation of paragraph 10 of resolution 1945 (2010). In follow-up to recommendations 2 and 3, the Committee sent a note verbale on 16 October encouraging those Member States that had not yet done so to submit an implementation report, with a particular focus on obstacles in implementing the sanctions measures. To date, however, the Committee has not yet received any implementation report in response to its call, and was informed on 18 October by the Permanent Mission of South Sudan that the Government of South Sudan was unable to implement the sanctions measures due to the current civil war. Following up on recommendations 4 and 5, concerning the cooperation of the Sudan and other Member States with the Panel, the Committee sent letters on 16 October encouraging the Sudan and a Member State to expedite responses to the Panel’s request for information. The Committee sent another letter on 6 November urging the Government of the Sudan to facilitate the fulfilment of the Panel’s mandate in the best possible environment, including by providing multiple-entry visas and issuing Darfur travel permits for experts in a timely manner. In the letter, the Committee also reiterated its urgent appeal to the Government of the Sudan to reconsider its position on the issuance of a visa to the finance expert. On 26 September, the Committee received a letter from the Coordinator of the Panel of Experts recommending that the Committee consider updating the list entry of Musa Hilal Abdalla Alnsiem. Accordingly, on 17 October, the Committee approved the proposed amendments to the list entry. A corresponding press release and note verbale to all Member States were issued on the same day. On 18 October, the Committee received the second quarterly update from the Panel. In the update, the Panel briefly reported on its weapons inspection visit that took place from 30 July to 4 August at the invitation of the Government of the Sudan. The Panel further reported on the continued stalemate in the peace process. Progress in the national disarmament campaign had come to a standstill when border guards led by Musa Hilal refused to disarm and be integrated into the Rapid Support Forces. While noting the positive cooperation of the Government of the Sudan, the Panel reiterated its concern that the finance expert remained unable to access the Sudan and that internal procedures for obtaining Darfur travel permits resulted in delays to the Panel’s deployment to Darfur. In my previous briefing to the Security Council, on 24 July, I informed the Council that I planned to convene joint informal consultations with the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011), concerning Libya, and the Committee established pursuant to resolution 2206 (2015), concerning South Sudan, as follow-up to my visit to the Sudan in May. Accordingly, on 10 November, the Committee held its first-ever joint informal consultations with those two Committees to discuss the spread of Darfuri armed groups into Libya and South Sudan and a common approach to addressing the issue. The Panels of Experts assisting the three Committees also participated and reported that Darfuri armed groups had spread beyond the Sudan’s borders to Libya and South Sudan, where they were engaged in arms trafficking and mercenary and other illicit activities. The Panels also informed that the armed groups’ activities were intertwined with the respective challenges faced by those States. Meeting participants appreciated the holding of the joint informal consultations. They also emphasized the importance of advancing the political processes in the three countries and of supporting institutional structures in the three countries. Participants furthermore noted that the cross-border threats posed by Darfuri armed groups attested to the importance of synergies between the Committees, the Panels of Experts and the United Nations field missions on the ground. A joint press release containing a brief summary of the discussion was issued following the meeting. On 27 November, the Committee received the final report of the Panel of Experts pursuant to resolution 2340 (2017). The Committee will meet this month to hear a presentation by the Panel of Experts and to discuss the Panel’s recommendations contained in the report. Lastly, I intend to touch upon my personal reflections in my briefing as outgoing Chair to the Council scheduled for 8 December.

I thank Ambassador Yelchenko for his briefing.