S/PV.9005 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 Council will hear a briefing by Ambassador Harold Adlai Agyeman, Permanent Representative of Ghana, 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 Agyeman. Mr. Agyeman: 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 Committee established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005), concerning the Sudan, covering the period from 11 December 2021 to today. During the reporting period, the Committee issued its annual report for the year 2021 (see S/2021/1037), which is available on the Committee’s website. It held one informal informal consultation in the format of a closed video conference and has received and considered the Panel of Experts on the Sudan final and last quarterly update. The Panel of Experts on the Sudan submitted its final report (see S/2022/48) to the Committee in December 2021. The Committee members discussed the content and recommendations presented by the Panel of Experts on 21 January 2022, during the virtual informal informal consultations. Following the Committee’s discussions, the Committee considered the Panel’s recommendations and follow-up actions. In that regard, on behalf of the Committee, I addressed letters dated 1 March 2022 to the Permanent Representatives of the Sudan, the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt and Libya to the United Nations reiterating some of the Panel’s recommendations. The Panel’s final report (S/2022/48) was made publicly available on 15 February. On 12 March, the Committee received the Panel’s last quarterly update. In both the quarterly and final reports, the Panel updated us about the implementation of the peace agreement, regional dynamics, the status of the armed groups in the region and intercommunal violence. I would like to bring to the attention of the Council the following from the Panel’s report. The Panel reported that the Juba Peace Agreement was being implemented slowly, except for the power- sharing provisions at the national level as well as in Darfur. The Panel further reported that intercommunal tensions continued to trigger clashes. The situation of internally displaced persons remained precarious partly because of limited capacities by the Government of the Sudan. The Panel expressed its concern at the insufficient protection of civilians, citing, among other issues, the lack of adequate police capacities and resources. The Panel reported that the national context remained largely unfavourable to the peace process despite several political initiatives aimed at the resolution of tensions. The Panel also noted that donors’ economic assistance to the Government of the Sudan remained largely frozen and opined that in the absence of significant financial support for the Juba Peace Agreement implementation, substantial progress in the peace process in Darfur would be difficult to achieve. On 13 March, the Secretary-General appointed an expert to serve on the Panel until 12 March 2023. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that the sanctions regime was established for the sole purpose of helping to bring peace to Darfur. It is not to punish the Sudan but to support the attainment of a sustainable peace. The 1591 Committee reiterates its commitment to working together with the Sudan and all the relevant stakeholders to make that a reality.

I thank Ambassador Agyeman for his briefing. I now give the floor to the representative of the Sudan.

At the outset, I should like to express my sincere congratulations to you, Madam President, on your assumption of the presidency of the Council this month and for effectively managing the Council’s agenda. We also express our appreciation to the Russian Federation for having presided over the Council last month. I should like also to thank the Head of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005) concerning the Sudan for his quarterly report on the work of the Committee. Over the past few years, the Sudan has stressed time and again its steadfast position on the sanctions imposed by resolution 1591 (2005) and subsequent resolutions. We stress that such sanctions are no longer commensurate with the facts on the ground in Darfur, as they were adopted in 2005. Darfur has surmounted previous political and security challenges, and thus the Council adopted resolution 2559 (2020), ending the mandate of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur. The few intercommunal confrontations in Darfur do not negate the fact that Darfur enjoys security and stability and that the Government is determined to address all the remaining social, political and security challenges. Since the signing of the Juba Peace Agreement in October 2020, all the parties to the agreement have been working on implementing its provisions on the ground. We note that the various governing entities in the Sudan, especially the Sovereignty Council and the Cabinet, currently include parties to the peace process. The Government is working with the partners of peace to implement all security arrangements and gather the forces of movements that are parties to the peace agreement at designated places outside the main cities in order to rehabilitate them with a view to reintegrating some of them into the regular forces and demobilizing others and integrating them into society. The most important challenge facing the implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement is that certain international and regional parties have not met their financial pledges and commitment towards that agreement. The Government of the Sudan, to the extent of its financial capabilities, is trying to achieve the peace dividends despite its limited economic resources. Thus we call on the international community to contribute financial support so that we can finalize the implementation of the entire agreement, especially since work on demobilization and reintegration requires a great deal of logistical, organizational and financial resources. For the first time in years, Darfur is living real peace for the most part. There have been no confrontations between the Sudanese armed forces and other movements that are outside the peace process. Last January the President of the Sovereignty Council extended the ceasefire in conflict areas. That will achieve peace, stability, security and tranquillity all over the country. We also notified the Council of that extension. All those positive developments in Darfur must push the Security Council to put an end to the sanctions, because that will empower the Government to rebuild its security forces and law-enforcement agencies so that we can maintain and promote peace not only in Darfur but across the entire vast region, in which organized- crime gangs smuggle people and weapons as well as commit other transnational crimes. Last February the Council adopted resolution 2620 (2022), by which it renewed the mandate of the Panel of Experts for another year, and noted in its operative paragraphs that the Council would reconsider on 31 August adopting clear, realistic and specific terms of reference and that it would review the sanctions measures. We stress in that regard that the Sudan is fully ready to positively engage with the members of the Council to establish the terms of reference and put an end to those sanctions.