S/PV.9785 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2024/740, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Abyei. Members of the Council have before them document S/2024/822, 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 14 votes in favour, none against and 1 abstention. The draft resolution has been adopted as resolution 2760 (2024). I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements after the voting.

I have the honour to deliver this explanation of vote on behalf of the three African members of the Council, namely, Algeria, Mozambique and Sierra Leone, as well as Guyana (A3+). We wish to express our appreciation to Council members for striving for common ground on this important resolution (resolution 2760 (2024)). Today’s adoption bears testimony to the broader support that the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) enjoys from the members of the Security Council. It is also a recognition of the vital role of UNISFA in promoting peace, stability and reconciliation in Abyei, a task that is being undertaken under a complex context and circumstances. Abyei is currently under great pressure owing to the magnitude and complexity of the challenges plaguing the region. That includes the structural economic vulnerability, the dire humanitarian situation, the effects of climate change and the impact of the conflict in the Sudan. To provide effective support to address those challenges, it is important to ensure that the United Nations mechanisms on the ground are adequately positioned. That is the fundamental reason that the A3+ supports the strategic review of UNISFA. In our view, the review can provide critical information to assess UNISFA’s mandate alignment with the current situation on the ground. In the meanwhile, it is important that the Governments of the Sudan and South Sudan maintain their support to UNISFA. They must work together in order to create the necessary conditions for the mission to fully implement its mandate. While the final status of Abyei remains to be settled, both countries must abide by the 2011 agreement and the demilitarized status over Abyei. While recognizing that the situation in the Sudan is deeply concerning, with an impact on the operational effectiveness of UNISFA, we stress the importance of addressing the situation in its proper context and perspective. We are also of the view that deviating from agreed language in referring to the Governments of the Sudan and South Sudan is unfortunate. We will continue defending the use of the term “Government” in all products relating to the Sudan and South Sudan. The positive vote today by the A3+ was a demonstration of our unwavering support for UNISFA, which is an important United Nations tool for the stability of the region. We stand ready to continue engaging with the members of the Security Council to ensure that UNISFA has the necessary conditions to effectively support peace, stability and reconciliation in Abyei.

In recent years, the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA)has been dedicated to performing its duties under difficult conditions and has played an important role in maintaining stability in Abyei, promoting the political process and resolving communal conflicts. China supports the renewal of the mandate of UNISFA and voted in favour of resolution 2760 (2024). Three years have elapsed since the reconfiguration of UNISFA, and the resolution just adopted authorizes the United Nations to conduct a new strategic assessment of the Force. We hope that the Secretary-General will strengthen coordination and communication with the Governments of the Sudan and South Sudan, regional organizations and troop- and police-contributing countries in conducting the strategic assessment, listen fully to the reasonable views of all parties and put forward practical recommendations for UNISFA to improve its effectiveness in carrying out its duties. At the same time, owing to the complex and fluid security situation in the region, UNISFA has recently faced many difficulties in the transport of equipment and logistical supplies. We call on the Secretariat to implement the requirements as set out in the resolution, take the lead in coordinating with all parties and take vigorous measures to minimize the impact of the security situation in the region on the transport of UNISFA’s equipment and on personnel retention and logistical supplies so as to ensure the safety and security of the peacekeepers. We also expect South Sudan, the Sudan and the other relevant parties to provide the greatest possible facilitation for the effective performance of UNISFA personnel. It must be mentioned that, during the consultations, the constructive proposals put forward by some Council members were not fully taken on board. The legitimate concerns of the parties concerned were not given sufficient attention. And the penholder opted to put the draft into blue for a vote when there were still differences among the parties, resulting in the Council’s failure to speak in one with one voice. We deplore that move, which is not conducive to enhancing consensus among all parties or to maintaining unity and cooperation in the Council. China expects the penholder to uphold an objective and impartial position and make greater efforts in that regard.

The Russian Federation abstained in the voting on resolution 2760 (2024), which extend the mandate of United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). We would like to say that this position does not reflect our positive view of the mission, whose work is something we still believe to be important and needed. We would like to express our regret regarding the fact that the United States, penholder on the resolution, included elements that are barely linked to what is happening in the Area. We understand that the impact on Abyei of the events in the Sudan and South Sudan is impossible to deny, but we are categorically opposed to the approach taken by the penholder, which is based on using any opportunity to meet its unhealthy need to express condemnation of the conflict in the Sudan. On purpose, Abyei was given its own agenda item. It has to do exclusively with UNISFA maintaining the appropriate security conditions pending possible agreement regarding its final status. We cannot agree with an exaggerated focus on women and children and the environment. We think it is totally unacceptable to add to UNISFA environmental issues, which they have not dealt with, as if the peacekeepers have nothing else to do. We are surprised by the wording put forward by the United States regarding an urgent call on the Sudan and South Sudan to issue the remaining visas for UNISFA police, which is really more like an instruction from a capital to a consulate than anything else. We underscore that issuing visas is a sovereign affair of States, which are not obliged to explain why they reject visa requests. Our United States colleagues are real experts on visa violations. They do not even issue visas to the people whom they are obliged to provide them in line with the United Nation Headquarters Agreement. But when it comes to Abyei, they are trying to be holier than the Pope. The resolution is technical in nature, but by adding to it controversial and politicized issues based on distorted assessments of the situation on the ground by Western countries, our colleagues are undermining the trust of the international community in the United Nations and obstructing the work of the global Organization on the ground. The document assigns the blame for unresolved issues regarding the activities of the Mission to both States. We do not deny that there are still difficulties, among other things, with regard to UNISFA police staffing, appointing a civilian Deputy Head of Mission and providing the peacekeepers with access to the Athony airstrip. However, we have seen from practice that pressure and accusations against the parties for hampering the mandate will not solve the issues. We would urge the Secretariat and the leadership of UNISFA to continue efforts aimead at building a constructive dialogue with Port Sudan and Juba. We must point out the poor conduct of the United States as penholder on the resolution. Despite disagreements on the text, the authors did not want to bother with seeking compromise. They chose the approach “my way or the highway” and put the draft resolution into blue, even though Security Council members still had some serious questions about it. Unfortunately, as we see it, in this situation and in a number of other cases, we must conclude that superficiality on the penholdership is really now becoming the calling card of the United States. We cannot fail to mention the desire on the part of a number of members, instead of referring to the “Governments” of Sudan and South Sudan, to use terms such as “authorities”. They are not discouraged even by the fact that “Government” is actually the approved language in the existing resolutions on Abyie, which were, by the way, adopted by consensus. Nobody has the right to undermine, at their own discrestion, the level of legitimacy of Governments of United Nations Member States that are responsible members of the international community.