Darfur follow-ups
Diplomats said that the UN Security Council will vote – today, Friday – to end the organization’s political mission in Sudan, after the Sudanese Foreign Minister-designate requested this measure earlier this month and described the mission’s performance as “disappointing.”
The draft resolution that the Council will consider in this regard ends the mandate of the mission, which bears the name of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Support of the Transitional Phase in Sudan (UNITAMS), on December 3 and requires it to complete its work within the next three months.
A UN team from the country will continue to provide humanitarian and development assistance.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters on Tuesday: “You have two generals who absolutely do not care about the interests of their people.”
In response to a question about whether the conflict represents a failure for the United Nations or the African Union, Guterres replied, “It is time to call a spade a spade. This is the fault of those who neglected the interests of their people for the sake of a pure power struggle.”
The United Nations Special Envoy to Sudan, Volker Peretz, announced last September that he would step down from his position, more than 3 months after Sudan declared that it was not welcome after disputes between the warring parties ignited the fuse of war.
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Last week, Guterres appointed veteran Algerian diplomat Ramatane Lamamra as his personal envoy to Sudan. The draft Security Council resolution encourages all parties to cooperate with the envoy.
A war broke out on April 15 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces after weeks of escalating tensions between the two sides over a plan to merge the forces as part of efforts to transition from military rule to civilian democratic rule.
