S/PV.9569 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/2024/212, 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 13 votes in favour, none against and 2 abstentions. The draft resolution has been adopted as resolution 2725 (2024). I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements after the voting.

The United States is pleased that the Council has adopted this resolution (resolution 2725 (2024)) to renew the mandate of the Panel of Experts on the Sudan for another 12 months. This resolution is an important statement underscoring that this body continues to support the Panel’s independent reporting to shed light on the spiralling situation in the Sudan. Renewal of the mandate for 12 months affords the Panel the opportunity to make up the time it lost during the previous mandate due to the brutal conflict plaguing the country. We urge the Sudanese Government and all relevant parties to allow the Panel to conduct research and interviews on the ground over the next 12 months. The United States is confident that this renewed mandate and the critical reporting it affords will enable action to stop the movement of arms into Darfur and support efforts to end the ongoing conflict. We remain ready to work with and support the United Nations to advance peace and security in the Sudan.

Russia abstained in the voting on the resolution prepared by the United States to extend the mandate of the Panel of Experts on the Sudan (resolution 2725 (2024)). We are pleased that the authors partially satisfied the wishes of a number of delegations and agreed to remove the excessive wording on the political situation, humanitarian aspects and human rights. The authors told us that the Council could not remain impartial regarding the situation in the Sudan and so the text needed to be brought in line with the current reality on the ground. Ultimately, in a single day, we are adopting two resolutions on the Sudan with overlapping content, particularly when it comes to humanitarian and human rights aspects. One should not think that, if a call is made twice, it becomes more convincing. Russia has no principled objections to the work done by the Panel of Experts. We believe that it should continue to carry out its work effectively and in an unbiased way. At the same time, it is important for the Panel not to go beyond the bounds of its mandate in its activities. Unfortunately, some of the provisions in the resolution could be interpreted precisely as an attempt to expand the mandate of the Panel beyond Darfur, even though the sanctions regime is only in effect in that part of the Sudan. Moreover, from a point of view of principle, we believe that there is no justification for extending the mandate of the Panel of Experts beyond the time frame of the sanctions regime itself, the renewal of which is to be considered by the Security Council in September. Such a lack of coordination is completely unusual for the work of sanctions committees. We see this as an attempt by the United States authors to prejudge the process and to impose upon members of the Council and the Sudan their opinion, which is that the effects of the sanctions regime should be extended. We would like to underscore that the decision in September will be taken in the light of the situation in the Sudan and assessments of whether it is appropriate to preserve or withdraw the restrictions or to revise their parameters, and it will certainly not depend on the expiry date of the Panel’s mandate. The shell game that they are currently playing should not be considered a precedent for the Council.

China abstained in the voting on resolution 2725 (2024) and wishes to very briefly elaborate on our position as follows. China has always insisted on the fact that the Security Council should take a prudent and responsible approach to sanctions. We emphasize that sanctions are only a means to an end, not an end in itself, and must be reviewed in a timely fashion and adjusted or terminated as appropriate. We regret that the resolution on which we have just voted does not go in that direction. Council resolution 2676 (2023) clearly provides that the sanctions on Darfur are to expire in September. The current resolution, which renews the mandate of the Panel of Experts on the Sudan until March 2025, appears utterly unjustified and contradictory.

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the African members of the Security Council, namely, Algeria, Sierra Leone and my own country, Mozambique, as well as Guyana (A3+1). The A3+1 would like to express its appreciation to the penholders for their tireless efforts in conducting the negotiation process to garner support for the resolution (resolution 2725 (2024)) when the views of the members of the Council seemed to be far apart. We believe that more could have been done to better and more fully reflect the views of all Council members in the text. Nevertheless, we recognize that this is possibly the best compromise text that we could achieve at this stage. We extend our appreciation to all Council members for their constructive engagement and their willingness to compromise, which allowed us to adopt the resolution. The A3+1 voted in favour of the resolution to reiterate its full support for the mandate of the Panel of Experts on the Sudan established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1591 (2005) regarding Darfur. In that connection, we are extremely concerned about the situation on the ground, in particular the reports of attacks on civilians, violations of human rights and international humanitarian law and sexual and gender-based violence, including targeted attacks on women and girls. Recent reports of the proliferation of weapons and recruitment campaigns among the civilian population, including among children, are also of great concern. The information that we received from the Secretary-General yesterday (see S/PV.9567) leaves no doubt about the gravity of the situation and the risks that it poses to the region. In that regard, Algeria, Guyana, Sierra Leone and Mozambique encourage the Panel to continue to implement its mandate, providing the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005) concerning the Sudan with the information it needs to best assess and take action on the situation in Darfur. Today, perhaps more than ever, the Panel’s work is of great importance. To conclude, the A3+1 stands ready to continue to constructively engage with the members of the Council towards the peace and stability of the Sudan and Darfur.