S/PV.8371 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representatives of the Sudan and South 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/2018/909, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by the United States of America. 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 2438 (2018). I now give the floor to the representative of the Sudan.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for this month and on wisely conducting its work. We wish you success. I want also to congratulate your predecessor, the Permanent Representative of the United States, on her efforts during her presidency of the Council throughout the month of September. I assure you of my country’s delegation full cooperation. At the outset, I am pleased once again to thank the delegation of the United States for leading the efforts that today enabled the Council to adopt resolution 2438 (2018) to extend the support provided by the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) to the operational activities of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JBVMM) for six months. I also thank all members of the Security Council for the spirit of cooperation and consensus they showed in the adoption of the resolution. Furthermore, I reiterate the commitment of the Sudan to cooperate with UNISFA so as to enable it to fulfil its mandate established by resolution 1990 (2011) and its subsequent resolutions. We are also committed to activating the JBVMM in order to fully carry out its functions and thereby contribute to strengthening security and stability on the border between the two countries. In that regard, I recall that the Sudan has been working to activate that important mechanism since its inception, in 2012, and has never obstructed its work, as attested to by the Council. My Government underlines its commitment to all the agreements concluded with our sister nation the Republic of South Sudan, in particular the Agreement on Temporary Arrangements for the Administration and Security of the Abyei Area, concluded on 20 June 2011, and the cooperation agreement between the two countries of 27 September 2012. I take this opportunity to highlight the centrality of the June 2011 Agreement, which is the basis for all Abyei-related arrangements, including deployment of UNISFA. The two parties, namely, the Government of the Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, which was later succeeded by the Government of South Sudan in July 2011, agreed that that Agreement would remain valid until the final status of the Abyei Area had been established. Both parties also agreed not to alter the mandate of UNISFA in any way without the approval of the three parties, namely, the Sudan, South Sudan and Ethiopia, the latter being the only troop-contributing country to UNISFA. In that respect, we hope that the Council will adopt a draft resolution in November that respects the letter and spirit of the June 2011 Agreement. We also call on local, regional and international partners to redouble their efforts and work together to strengthen and consolidate security and stability in Abyei region. We also call on them as well to disassociate from anything that might undermine this positive trend and to avoid any measure or decision that is not adequately thought out. I also note the importance of considering the issue of Abyei within a broader framework that encompasses the relations between the Sudan and South Sudan. In that regard, my country’s delegation would like to express its hope and aspiration that the most recent positive developments in the relations between the two countries, as well as the Sudan’s hosting of peace negotiations pertaining to South Sudan within the framework of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, will contribute to further cooperation between the two countries so as to implement all the agreements concluded between them and fully invigorate the work of JBVMM. In conclusion, I reiterate my thanks to all our partners, whose efforts are contributing to facilitate the work of UNISFA, in particular the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the African Union Peace and Security Council, the African Union Commission, the African Union High- level Implementation Panel, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Sudan and South Sudan; as well as the Secretariat and the entire staff of UNISFA. We recall the Sudan’s commitment to cooperating with UNISFA so that it can smoothly complete all its tasks in accordance with the provisions of resolution 1990 (2011).

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

I would like to congratulate you, Sir, on your presidency of the Security Council for the month of October. We would also like to thank you, and through you the Government of Bolivia, for the close working relationship we have enjoyed with you during Bolivia’s tenure in the Security Council. Given that this is probably your last presidency, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the best. On behalf of the Republic of South Sudan, I would like to thank the Council on the decision to renew the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei. The fact that the Council approved its extention, albeit for six months and with the current troop ceiling maintained, is reassuring to the communities in Abyei. Accordingly, the Government of the Republic of South Sudan would like to reaffirm its commitment to continue engaging the Council until a final solution to the Abyei issue is found. In conclusion, we would like to thank the Ethiopian Government for its steadfast dedication to maintaining peace and stability in Abyei.