S/PV.8654 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/2019/849, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Germany and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2019/816, which contains the special report of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur. 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 2495 (2019). I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements.

I am sure that I speak on behalf of my co-penholder, Germany, when I thank all Security Council colleagues for their very constructive engagement on resolution 2495 (2019). May I also thank our Sudanese colleagues for their cooperation and support, which, I think, is a sign of the new relationship between the Sudan and the Council. I was fortunate enough last week to enjoy several hours in Khartoum, discussing these issues with Sudanese officials there. Prime Minister Hamdok and his Government have committed to achieving a fair comprehensive peace in Darfur. With the adoption of this resolution, the Security Council has demonstrated its support for those efforts. As Prime Minister Hamdok noted in his letter to the Secretary-General, the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) has an important role to play in creating a conducive environment for peace and reconciliation, which is particularly important at this critical time for the peace process. By extending UNAMID’s mandate for 12 months and maintaining its current footprint in Darfur, we have also recognized UNAMID’s vital role, while responding to the request of the Government of the Sudan to avoid any security vacuum in Darfur. This resolution also sends a clear message to all stakeholders in the peace process that they must seize the opportunity before them to establish a comprehensive peace. Preconditions need to be abandoned in favour of meaningful engagement in the peace process. We hope to see progress in that regard by the time the Council returns to reassess the situation on the ground and UNAMID’s mandate five months from now. While the resolution rightly focuses on the support that UNAMID can provide today, it also looks forward to the transition from peacekeeping to peacebuilding. We have a partner in the Government of the Sudan, which wants to define accurately its needs and which needs to receive the necessary support from the international community. The United Kingdom therefore welcomes the commitment of the Government of the Sudan, the United Nations and the African Union to continue their dialogue on a follow-on mission to UNAMID. We look forward to receiving options for such a mission in early 2020. We have a collective responsibility to get this transition right. By adopting this resolution today, we are a step closer to doing so.

I will be short in echoing what my British colleague just said and thanking the United Kingdom for the good close cooperation on our path. I also thank all delegations that worked very constructively in support of resolution 2495 (2019), for which we were co-penholder. We are also very thankful for the close cooperation with the Sudan as the host country of African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). This was a very positive experience. I have three brief thoughts. First, the Security Council has once again demonstrated that it is responsive to the dramatic changes that we all witnessed in the Sudan. It is responsive to the request by the Government of the Sudan to see UNAMID’s mandate extended for a year. With that mandate and the resolution we just adopted, we sent a very strong message of support for Prime Minister Hamdok and the Sudanese efforts to foster peace. Secondly, we reaffirmed that UNAMID plays an important role in Darfur, especially in this very crucial phase during which talks between the Government of the Sudan and the armed movements are ongoing with a hope for lasting peace. Collectively, we sent a strong message with this resolution that all armed groups should join the talks without preconditions. Lastly, with this resolution today, as Jonathan Allen said earlier, we are also laying out a clear road map for a transition from peacekeeping to peacebuilding. For Germany, that is a very positive and welcome development. We will offer our support to make the transition from peacekeeping to peacebuilding a reality. Of course, once again, the transition hinges on a close dialogue among the Government of the Sudan, the United Nations and the African Union, which plays a very important role. Such dialogue will define how a special political mission that would follow on UNAMID should be designed so it best responds to the Sudan’s needs and wishes. Such a transition has to be informed by the conditions on the ground, which we should consider carefully before making our next decision on the drawdown of UNAMID. We are therefore looking forward to close cooperation here in the Security Council and between the Council and the new Sudan.

We are grateful to the United Kingdom and Germany for their leadership in producing a mandate that supports the civilian-led transitional Government of the Sudan as it works to form inclusive peace agreements and bolster democratic governance. As we look to the successful conclusion of the peace process in the Sudan, the United States fully expects this to be the final extension of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), barring extraordinary circumstances and subject to review by the Security Council. We have been working towards responsibly drawing down the mission since 2017, and we believe it is still in the interests of the Sudan to do so within the next year. The United States supports a follow-on United Nations mission with a countrywide mandate to continue assistance to the new Sudanese Government following UNAMID’s conclusion. This final mandate reiterates that UNAMID’s core mission is to support the peace process and peacebuilding and to protect civilians. Furthermore, UNAMID’s role remains central to the facilitation of peaceful political solutions and to the full inclusion of the views of women leaders and civilians. This mandate affirms the continued importance of this role. The Sudan has a historic opportunity to foster lasting peace, and we are ready to support the Sudanese people and their Government. The United States calls on all parties to fully and actively participate in the peace process and honour the commitments that they make in that process. To be clear, this is only the beginning of the long road to stability, security and democratic governance in the Sudan. There must also be follow- through. We value the role that the United Nations, the African Union, Ethiopia and other international partners play in supporting stability and a smooth political transition in the Sudan. This mandate clearly represents the international community’s support for that transition. It offers needed support to the new Government as it focuses on addressing insecurity, enabling unfettered humanitarian access and protecting civilians. We look forward to the Secretary-General’s next report, which will outline steps to fully draw down UNAMID and propose a follow-on international presence.

France also welcome’s the unanimous adoption of resolution 2495 (2019). We are pleased that we were able to unite and respond positively to the requests formulated by the Sudanese Prime Minister. This resolution also lays the strongest possible foundations for the peace process to succeed. Renewing the mandate of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur for 12 months, including five months in its current configuration, means that the mission can support the peace process and we avoid creating a security vacuum while the peace negotiations are under way. France calls on all armed groups to participate in good faith in those talks, to which we stand ready to contribute. This historic opportunity to build lasting peace in the Sudan must not be missed. We will have to continue supporting peace in Darfur after the Blue Helmets leave, as in other countries. We hope that the tripartite structure comprising the Sudan, the United Nations and the African Union will be able to make recommendations in December on a follow- up mechanism, so that the Security Council can take a decision in that regard by 31 March. Finally, we thank Germany and the United Kingdom as co-penholders for their tireless and effective efforts.

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

I would like to thank you, Mr. President, for inviting us to participate in this meeting. I would also like to sincerely thank all of the members of the Security Council for the support they have shown today for the Sudan by adopting resolution 2495 (2019), which extends the mandate of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operations in Darfur (UNAMID) for one year and maintains the geographic presence and the troop ceiling for the first six months. That was done at the request of the Sudanese Government with the aim of creating the conditions necessary to achieve comprehensive peace throughout the Sudan and confidence-building measures with armed groups. Following the success of the December Revolution, the transition to civil governance requires the international community, and the Security Council in particular, to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the civilian Government in pursuing the priorities that emerge during the transition period. At the top of the priorities list will be achieving lasting peace throughout the Sudan, mitigating the consequences of the conflict and ensuring conditions conducive to democracy by the end of the 39-month transition period. The Government of the Sudan is aware of the magnitude of its responsibilities and of the challenges before it as it seeks to normalize life in conflict areas and address the social and economic consequences of the conflict. That requires concerted efforts to overcome those challenges. To that end, the Government has begun assessing the options for the appropriate mechanism that will follow UNAMID in the Sudan and choosing the most effective United Nations presence to deal with the Sudan’s issues, while working with the United Nations and the African Union to agree on such a mechanism. The upcoming period will witness the beginning of creating the national commission for peace, which will be entrusted with coordinating with Government institutions to deal with the consequences of the conflict and bring about lasting peace. As Council members are well aware, resolving the economic crisis represents the success of the Government’s plan to ensure peace. To that end, we will not stop requesting the international community to economically support the transitional Government, including by removing the Sudan from the list of State sponsors of terrorism. The inclusion of the Sudan on that list is a major obstacle to resolving our economic crisis. In conclusion, I would like to thank the two co-penholders, the United Kingdom and Germany, and all Council members for their support in adopting this resolution. I would also like to thank the African Union Peace and Security Council, which supported a request from the Sudan to extend UNAMID’s mandate. I would like as well to thank UNAMID, its leadership and peacekeepers for their efforts and sacrifices in order to achieve peace and stability in Darfur. I assure the Council that the Government of my country stands fully ready to cooperate and coordinate with the mission and United Nations organs to achieve the desired goals.