S/PV.8856 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. At this meeting, the Security Council will hear a briefing by Ambassador Sven Jürgenson, Permanent Representative of Estonia, 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 Jürgenson.

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 14 June 2021 to today. During the reporting period, the Committee received the interim report of the Panel of Experts on the Sudan. It also held its first in-person informal consultations since the beginning of the coronavirus disease pandemic. At the meeting, the Panel briefed the Committee on its interim report. On 19 August, the Committee issued a press release (SC/14610) on those informal consultations. The Panel updated us on the implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement, regional dynamics, the status of the armed groups in the region, intercommunal violence and violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. I would like to bring following points from the Panel’s briefing to the attention of the Council. The Panel reported that both the Government of the Sudan and the Juba Peace Agreement signatory movements had continued to promote peace in the Sudan, including Darfur. However, except for power- sharing arrangements, the implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement had encountered delays. In terms of the regional context, the Panel noted that it had remained mainly favourable to the peace process in Darfur. With regard to the armed groups in Darfur, the Panel informed the Committee that the Sudan Liberation Army/Abdul Wahid faction had remained present in Jebel Marra. At the same time, there had been some sporadic fighting in the northern part of Jebel Marra between Sudan Liberation Army/Abdul Wahid forces and Government forces. Thanks to mining revenues, the Sudan Liberation Army/Abdul Wahid faction had been augmenting its capability in terms of recruitment, training and weapons. The Panel reported that the Juba Peace Agreement signatory movements had returned to Darfur — some of them engaging in recruitment, while also maintaining a number of troops and weapons in Libya. The non-signatory armed movements in Libya had also continued to recruit and grow, although several of them expressed the wish to join the peace process and return to the Sudan. The Panel noted that, owing to the delays in the implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement, in particular the security chapter, insecurity had persisted in many areas of Darfur. Despite the Government’s commitment to improve security, the Panel reported that intercommunal violence, attacks against civilians by the Sudan Liberation Army/Abdul Wahid faction and human rights violations, including acts of sexual violence in conflict, were recorded. Employing more measures to enhance the protection of civilians for communities in Darfur continued to be of paramount importance and needed to be expedited. According to the Panel, more needs to be done to address the underlying drivers of the Darfur conflict, which in some cases has been exacerbated by competition for scarce local resources. With regard to the implementation of the travel ban and assets freeze, the Panel reported that it remained a challenge. A new instance of a travel-ban violation had occurred with Musa Hilal’s travel to Chad in April. Finally, I would like to reiterate that the targeted measures and arms embargo on Darfur serve the sole purpose of helping the Sudan to achieve peace. The targeted sanctions aim to thwart or prevent actions that may spoil the peace. The arms embargo currently in place in Darfur ultimately serves the purpose of preventing the further proliferation of arms. The Committee is supporting the upcoming review of sanctions measures in order to best support the Sudan in achieving peace. The 1591 Committee reiterates its steadfast commitment to working together with the Sudan and all relevant stakeholders to make peace a reality.

I thank Mr. Jürgenson for his briefing. I now give the floor to the representative of the Sudan.

At the outset, I would like to congratulate you, Mr. President, on presiding over the Security Council during this month. We are confident that you will wisely and ably steer the work of the Council. We also express our appreciation to the Permanent Representative of friendly India for successfully guiding the work of the Council last month. We thank the Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005), concerning the Sudan, for his briefing on the quarterly report on the work of the Committee. For the past years, the Sudan has continued to stress, time and again, its steadfast position vis-à-vis the sanctions imposed on the Sudan pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005) and subsequent resolutions. Our position is that the sanctions are no longer in line with the situation on the ground in Darfur today as compared to 2005, when they were imposed. The Chair of the Sanctions Committee has continued to reiterate encouraging statements, namely, that the purpose of the sanctions is not to penalize the Sudan but to promote peace and stability. As security, peace and stability are some of the most important priorities of the transitional Government in the Sudan, and thanks to the efforts of the Government in that regard and the return to normalcy in Darfur, it is incumbent upon the Security Council to positively address the developments on the ground in Darfur and reconsider its measures. We would like to reaffirm that the security situation in Darfur continues to improve day after day. The current ceasefire in all regions of Darfur has not been violated since it was announced. In addition, the Juba Peace Agreement is currently being implemented. The Government implements the provisions of the Agreement on the ground in cooperation with peace partners. Forces affiliated with the peace process have arrived in Khartoum and Darfur to implement the security arrangements and form the joint force to protect civilians. Furthermore, last week, a joint workshop was held between the Government of the Sudan and the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, as part of operationalizing the Darfur Permanent Ceasefire Committee and its subsidiary bodies to implement the security arrangements of the Juba Peace Agreement. I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm that the Government of the Sudan is determined to continue to improve the security situation in Darfur by implementing the Juba Peace Agreement; collecting unlicensed weapons; achieving justice and accountability; addressing issues pertaining to internally displaced persons and refugees; implementing a national plan for the protection of civilians; engaging the Sudan Liberation Army/Abdul Wahid faction in the peace process; and taking measures to prevent inter-communal violence. We would like also to note that the Government shoulders its responsibility to protect civilians in Darfur. Authorities in the Sudan spare no effort to protect and promote the rights of children, in general, and those affected by armed conflict, in particular, as they are one of the most vulnerable groups in armed conflict. In March 2016, we signed a plan of action on the protection of children from violations in areas of armed conflict. That was followed by the signing, in August 2018, of a streamlined road map for the protection of children from violations in areas of armed conflict. Furthermore, we established units for the protection of women and children as part of the Sudanese regular forces. All those units continue to monitor reported cases of violations against women and children and immediately address them. Ending the measures imposed pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005) and other relevant resolutions will enable the Sudanese Government to rebuild the capacity of security and law enforcement forces to maintain peace in Darfur and beyond, along extensive borders, where organized crime groups smuggle people and weapons and conduct other cross-border criminal activities. Lifting those measures will enable the Sudan to become a country that lives in peace, internally and regionally. In conclusion, we emphasize our readiness to constructively engage with the members of the Council to agree on benchmarks that would enable the Security Council to review the sanctions measures, on the condition that those benchmarks must be objective, measurable and implementable. We note that we follow with ةmuch concern the current negotiations of the Council about the draft presidential statement on those benchmarks. Some members of the Council are attempting to impose unreasonable benchmarks that are impossible to implement. Some of them clearly seek to expand the measures imposed in resolution 1591 (2005) to include the entire territories of the Sudan, instead of just Darfur. We would like to make it crystal clear that the Sudan will not address any benchmarks that do not meet our approval. We have reiterated, time and again, that we are ready to consult with the Secretariat and members of the Council to reach benchmarks that can be implemented and measured. We facilitated the visit by representatives of the Secretariat to the Sudan, where they met with relevant authorities in the country based on our positive engagement and good intentions. However, we know that the Security Council has previously lifted sanctions imposed on certain States without benchmarks or preconditions. As the Sudan works to bring about comprehensive change, not just in Darfur, but throughout the country, it seeks to implement the slogan of its Glorious Revolution, namely, “Freedom, Peace and Justice”. We therefore expect to be treated fairly and objectively by some members of the Council. Darfur is currently making the transition from peacekeeping to peacebuilding. It therefore looks forward to immediately reconsidering and ending the sanctions, in line with the situation on the ground and positive developments in the region.