S/PV.9807 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 Joonkook Hwang, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, 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 Hwang. Mr. Hwang: 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 Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005), concerning the Sudan, covering the period from 12 September to today. During that reporting period, the Committee met once in informal consultations, added two individuals to the 1591 sanctions list and received the second quarterly update of the Panel of Experts on the Sudan. On 7 November and in accordance with paragraph 5 of resolution 2664 (2022), a representative of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), briefed the Committee on the delivery of life-saving assistance and other activities that support essential humanitarian needs in the Sudan. OCHA also informed the Committee that it had not received any report on the provision, processing or payment of funds, other financial assets or economic resources for or known to have benefited, designated individuals or entities or of cases of aid diversion by or known to have benefited same, as part of the delivery of humanitarian assistance and other activities that support basic humanitarian needs in accordance with resolution 2664 (2022). OCHA did not rule out the possibility that such designated individuals and entities indirectly benefited from existing instances of aid diversion. OCHA further informed the Committee about the risk-management and the due-diligence processes in place. On 3 December, the Committee issued a press release (SC/15918) on those informal consultations. On 8 November, the Committee listed two individuals  — Abdel Rahman Juma Barkalla and Osman Mohamed Hamid Mohamed  — for engaging in actions or policies that threaten the peace, security or stability of Darfur, including acts of violence and human rights abuses. Both individuals are subject to targeted sanctions measures, pursuant to paragraph 3 (c) of resolution 1591 (2005). The press release and the narrative summaries of reasons for their listing are available on the Committee’s website. On 18 November, the Sudan Panel of Experts submitted its second quarterly update to the Committee. The Panel updated the Committee on the situation in Darfur. In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to underline that the purpose of the sanctions regime is to contribute to bringing peace to Darfur. The 1591 Committee remains committed to working together with all relevant stakeholders in order to achieve that goal.

I thank Mr. Hwang for his briefing. I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements.

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the three African members of the Security Council, namely, Algeria, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and my country, Guyana (A3+). The A3+ thanks Ambassador Joonkook Hwang for his succinct overview of the work of the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005), concerning the Sudan, over the period from 12 September to 10 December, and reaffirms our continued support and constructive engagement in the work of the Committee. We further reaffirm our commitment to lasting peace in the Sudan. We stress the urgency of securing an immediate end to this protracted conflict, prioritizing dialogue between the parties in order to resolve their differences and respecting and protecting the well-being of civilians. The A3+ welcomes the World Food Programme’s announcement, on 22 November, of aid reaching North Darfur, in particular, food aid delivered to the Zamzam internally displaced persons camp, where famine was confirmed in August. We also take note of the opening of new air corridors to facilitate humanitarian assistance in South Kordofan state and Dongola in the Sudan. The A3+ is of the firm belief that such efforts are critical to alleviating the humanitarian suffering in the Sudan, attributable to, inter alia, acute food insecurity, an unprecedented displacement crisis and the impact of the recent severe flooding in the region. We reiterate our call for those efforts to be sustained. We express deep concern about continued human rights abuses committed with blatant impunity in the Sudan and call on the conflicting parties to scrupulously adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law. Reflecting on the work of the Committee in 2024 and looking ahead to continued meaningful engagements in 2025, the A3+ would like to underscore the following points. First, sustained humanitarian access is needed. The Sudan is one of the top five global hunger hotspots. To avoid further catastrophe, it is imperative that all actors, in coordination with the Sudanese Government, work in good faith to facilitate sustained humanitarian access and to implement protection measures for civilians. Secondly, a stronger position must be taken against external actors who fuel the conflict. In order to ensure safe and orderly humanitarian access, external actors who are funding and arming conflict parties must be held accountable. Those with influence over the parties must use it to encourage responsible behaviour and compliance with international law, including compliance with the arms embargo on Darfur, pursuant to the resolution 1591 (2005). Thirdly, more coordinated negotiation and mediation processes are needed. The A3+ strongly believes that there should be strong coordination of mediation efforts, whether international or regional, with the preservation of the central roles of the African Union and the United Nations. Allow me to conclude by underlining the need for all stakeholders to consistently act in the best interests of the Sudan and the Sudanese people, promoting the stability and well-being of the country and its people and refraining from any action that has the potential to further exacerbate the already fragile situation in the country.

I now give the floor to the representative of the Sudan.

At the outset, I would like to congratulate you, Madam President, on your presidency of the Security Council for the month of December, and I wish you every success in the conduct of your tasks. I also thank the Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005), concerning the Sudan, for his periodic briefing. The Chair of the Sanctions Committee concluded his briefing by noting that the objective of the sanctions regime is to contribute to achieving peace in Darfur. We appreciate that objective. However, the achievement of peace in Darfur and in the Sudan, as a whole, requires more serious and effective efforts than convening periodic meetings. The current reality on the ground in Darfur clearly shows that there are States that have been deliberately violating the sanctions regime imposed by the Security Council and are carrying out aggressive actions against the Sudan and its people. That includes killing and displacing citizens, in a stark violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law. As the Council is well aware, the United Arab Emirates has been directly causing instability, not just in Darfur but throughout the Sudan. It has done so through its blatant sponsorship of the Rapid Support Forces, which has been perpetrating large-scale systematic crimes against civilians. Moreover, it has sought to destroy infrastructure, along with public and private properties. The support by the United Arab Emirates for the Rapid Support Forces includes arms and military equipment manufactured in some member States of the Council, including permanent Member States. I would like to briefly highlight three critical points. First, throughout past few weeks, the United Arab Emirates has been scaling up its aggression against the Sudan with the use of strategic drones that take off from the Am Djarass airport in Chad to hit targets inside of El Fasher and other Sudanese cities, including Shendi, Atbarah and Marawi. Those drones are to be sold only in accordance with agreements and security protocols among countries. The United Arab Emirates is also providing the Rapid Support Forces with fighter drones manufactured in Serbia and other States. Those drones are being used against the Zamzam displaced persons camp near El Fasher. They were also used yesterday in the indiscriminate strikes on Omdurman, which claimed the lives of 65 innocent civilians. Our information indicates that experts of the United Arab Emirates have been training militia members to operate those drones in the United Arab Emirates and in locations inside the Sudan under the militias’ control. The drones are transported from the United Arab Emirates via the Flysky company, whose aircrafts have conducted more than 50 flights in recent weeks to supply the militia with weapons, military equipment and mid-size drones. We note that this company is known for its involvement in such activities, as evidenced in the reports of the Panel of Experts on the Sudan, the Panel of Experts on Libya and others. Secondly, in its aggression against the Sudan, the United Arab Emirates has not contented itself with recruiting mercenaries from the Sahel countries and countries neighbouring the Sudan to spread terrorism and kill civilians but has also recruited mercenaries from Colombia to fight in Darfur. The competent authorities of the Sudan seized evidence and documents confirming the participation of Colombian mercenaries in the fight in the Sudan after they had set up an ambush for a convoy coming from southern Libya loaded with military supplies for the Rapid Support Forces. We note that the Colombian Government issued an official apology to the Sudan for its citizens’ participation in those hostilities. Thirdly, the Sudan welcomes the positive steps taken by some countries to confront the blatant interference of the United Arab Emirates in the Sudan. In that context, we appreciate the joint resolution filed by Senator Chris Van Hollen in the United States Senate and the similar resolution filed by Congresswoman Sara Jacobs in the United States House of Representatives aimed at stopping the sale of weapons by the United States to the United Arab Emirates. We hope that those steps will contribute to putting an end to the subversive role played by the United Arab Emirates and urge it to act responsibly and stop supporting the Rapid Support Forces, which has a horrific record of committing crimes and spreading terrorism. The Sudan reiterates its commitment to working with the United Nations and the international community to achieve peace and stability in Darfur and throughout the country. We hope that the Security Council will take decisive and effective measures to ensure the cessation of the aggression perpetrated by the United Arab Emirates and its disastrous consequences for the people, security and stability of the Sudan.