S/PV.9054 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2022/443, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 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 2636 (2022). I shall now give the floor to those Council members who wish to make statements after the voting.

The United Kingdom welcomes the adoption of resolution 2636 (2022) renewing the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in the Sudan (UNITAMS) and enabling the Mission to provide essential support to the Sudan at a time when the country faces economic, humanitarian and security crises exacerbated by the 25 October coup and when the country’s future hangs in the balance. As penholder, our preference would have been for the Council to adopt a substantive resolution that voiced support for UNITAMS’ vital efforts, in particular its role in facilitating, alongside the African Union (AU) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a Sudanese-led process to restore a civilian-led transition towards democracy. A substantive resolution would also have enabled UNITAMS’ priorities to be updated to reflect the Sudan’s own request for additional support on such issues as disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, transitional justice and civilian protection. It is regrettable that the Council was not able to agree a substantive resolution on this occasion. In future, we hope that all Council members will prioritize support for the missions the Security Council establishes, to enable them to most effectively implement the mandates with which we provide them. The actions and decisions made by Sudanese stakeholders in the coming weeks and months will determine whether the Sudan slides back into dictatorship and violence or whether the Sudan re-establishes a clear path towards the democracy, stability and prosperity its people so deserve. We welcome the recent lifting of the state of emergency and release of detainees as important steps to create a favourable environment for political dialogue. But we reiterate our call on the Sudanese authorities to go further in ensuring that civil and political freedoms are respected and in ending the use of excessive force against protesters. This is particularly significant as the country marks the anniversary of the 3 June massacre. The United Kingdom also reiterates its full support for the United Nations-AU-IGAD-facilitated process and calls on all stakeholders to engage unconditionally to ensure that the Sudan’s people have the democratic, peaceful and prosperous future they continue to demand.

The Russian Federation supported the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in the Sudan (UNITAMS). We commend the responsible approach of the authors of resolution 2636 (2022), thanks to which Security Council maintained consensus on the issue of supporting the Republic of Sudan, which is living through a complicated period concerning internal policy, characterized by acute humanitarian and socio- economic challenges. We support the efforts of the Government of the Sudan to stabilize the situation in the country. We are convinced of the ability of the people of the Sudan to address all domestic problems on their own through constructive national dialogue. We believe that the Sudanese people themselves must agree upon the timelines, pace and parameters for their transition period. For this to occur, responsible political forces in the country need space, and the international community needs to be patient. Political and economic pressure from outside, even if it is carried out with the excuse of having good intentions, risks worsening an already complicated situation. Most external players come to the region with their own interests, and this causes new spikes of instability there. Using economic leverage to exert political pressure not only harms ordinary Sudanese people, but also leads to a growth in divisions in the country’s political sphere. We would urge all external players, including UNITAMS, to play a constructive role. UNITAMS was deployed in the Sudan at the invitation of the country’s Government to support national efforts in strengthening peace, fulfilling the terms of the Juba Peace Agreement, dealing with issues relating to internally displaced persons and refugees and mobilizing assistance for economic development. We hope that the Mission will meet these expectations of the Sudanese people.

Norway welcomes the extension of the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in the Sudan (UNITAMS) (resolution 2636 (2022)), and we thank the United Kingdom as penholder for its inclusive and transparent approach to the mandate renewal. Since the adoption of resolution 2579 (2021), we have seen unfortunate significant changes on the ground in the Sudan, which, in our view, clearly merited an updated mandate. We appreciate the penholder’s efforts to include views from both the Sudan and the region in the first draft, and we were looking forward to engaging in negotiations towards a consensual outcome. We would in particular have wanted to see the Security Council’s strong and clear support for the joint efforts of the African Union (AU), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and UNITAMS to unlock the political crisis. More broadly, Norway welcomes the recent release of detainees and the lifting of the state of emergency in the Sudan. These are important steps to create the right environment for dialogue, and we now call on all Sudanese parties to engage with the United Nations- AU-IGAD process. The role of the tripartite mechanism is crucial. An inclusive political settlement is the surest path to economic recovery and development, improvement of the humanitarian situation and the strengthening of the protection of civilians. There can be no doubt that UNITAMS continues to play a key role in supporting the Sudan in reaching these goals.

First of all, I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the United Kingdom, penholder of resolution 2636 (2022) just adopted. Mexico voted in favour of the resolution, which renews the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Assistance Mission in the Sudan, as the work of the Mission at this critical junction for the country is fundamental. However, we regret that agreement on a substantive resolution was not reached, since the technical extension does not take into account the events that have taken place in the Sudan in the last 12 months. I conclude by reiterating Mexico’s support for the efforts of the Special Representative aimed at creating the conditions necessary for dialogue that would allow for the early restoration of constitutional order in the country.

The United States welcomes the adoption of the mandate renewal for the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in the Sudan (UNITAMS) (resolution 2636 (2022)), which starts another year for the Mission’s support for the Sudan’s democratic transition. We voted in favour of this mandate renewal to ensure that the valuable work of UNITAMS to support the security and stability of the Sudan, such as the ongoing Sudanese-led dialogue, which is facilitated by UNITAMS, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in Eastern Africa, continues. Rapid progress on this dialogue is critical to restoring a civilian-led transitional Government. We strongly encourage all Sudanese civilian and military actors to engage. We continue to stand with the people of the Sudan in their pursuit of a democratic and prosperous nation and call on security forces to end the use of violence against protesters and respect human rights.

China voted in favour of resolution 2636 (2022) on the mandate renewal of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in the Sudan (UNITAMS). This resolution provides the basis for UNITAMS to continue to implement its mandate in a balanced manner based on the needs of the Sudan. In the light of the views of many members, including China, the penholder made necessary amendments to the initial text so that the Council could stay united on this issue. That is the right approach. At present, the Sudanese parties have disagreements on the specific modalities for achieving a political transition, and these differences must ultimately be resolved through a Sudanese-led and Sudanese-owned political process. The international community should maintain the patience necessary to create space for the resolution of differences among parties, avoid choosing sides, aggravating tensions and exerting excessive pressure. UNITAMS is a political mission established at the request of the Sudan under Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter. At all times, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the Mission must abide by the mandate from the Security Council, respect the Sudan’s sovereignty and leadership, maintain communications and cooperation with the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and other regional organizations, and support the Sudan in exploring a development path that is in line with its national conditions. Under the current situation, UNITAMS should in particular strengthen the implementation of its mandate of mobilizing international development assistance and make concrete efforts aimed at improving the economic and humanitarian situation in the Sudan.

We also thank the United Kingdom as penholder on this issue. Ireland voted today in favour of resolution 2636 (2022), a technical rollover of the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in the Sudan (UNITAMS), because we believe that the United Nations has an important role to play in supporting peace in the Sudan. The one-year extension is important for the Mission to carry out its vital work. While we voted in favour of the technical resolution, we feel that there has been a missed opportunity to substantively update the mandate to reflect the current reality in the Sudan and more effectively frame the critical work that UNITAMS is carrying out across all of its strategic objectives. Since the military takeover in Khartoum last October, the Sudan is facing multiple crises — political security, economic, human rights and humanitarian. In this context, it is disappointing that some members of the Security Council were unwilling to even engage in a discussion on how best to ensure that we are providing the most appropriate possible support to the Sudan and its people at a time of such need. Looking forward, the Council must live up to its responsibility with regard to international peace and security and put the Sudanese people and the long-term stability and development of the country at the heart of what the Council does. Let me conclude by reiterating our full support for the efforts of UNITAMS, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development to facilitate political dialogue among all Sudanese stakeholders. We urge all Sudanese parties to urgently return to the democratic transition and live up to their commitments to the Sudanese people.

France voted in favour of renewing the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in the Sudan (UNITAMS) (resolution 2636 (2022)). This Mission plays an essential role alongside the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in facilitating dialogue between the Sudanese parties, and it continues to support the peace process within the framework of the Juba Peace Agreement. Along with its European Union partners, France will continue to support UNITAMS and Special Representative of the Secretary-General Volker Perthes. The Security Council must show responsibility and remain united in order to help, in accordance with its prerogatives, the authorities and the people of the Sudan to overcome the political, security and economic impasse in which their country has found itself since the coup d’état of 25 October 2021. France therefore calls on the Sudanese authorities to seize the potential of the United Nations offer of assistance through UNITAMS.

I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of Albania. Albania voted in favour of extending the mandate renewal of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in the Sudan (UNITAMS) (resolution 2636 (2022)), in the form of a technical rollover for 12 months, and we fully support the work of UNITAMS and Special Representative of the Secretary-General Perthes. We regret that the Council could not reach consensus on a substantive mandate renewal that reflects the current realities and challenges on the ground. We would like to stress once again our full support for the trilateral mechanism and the efforts of the United Nations, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development aimed at facilitating a Sudanese-led solution to resolve the current political impasse. I now resume my functions as President of the Council. There are no more names inscribed on the list of the speakers.