STATEMENT BY MARTHA AMA AKYAA POBEE, SPECIAL REREPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFING
New York
09 AUGUST 2023
I thank you, Madam President, for this opportunity to brief the Security Council on the situation in the Sudan.
More than 100 days have passed since fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. Clashes between the parties have continued in various parts of the country, particularly Khartoum, Bahri, Omdurman and Darfur, with neither side achieving victory or making any significant gains. Khartoum state remains an epicentre of the conflict, with major combat concentrated around key Sudanese Armed Forces installations, including the Sudanese Armed Forces General Command Headquarters. Fighting has continued in various neighbourhoods. This week, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces both ordered residents to leave their homes in a section of Omdurman, declaring it an area of operations.
The parties have inflicted tremendous suffering on the people of the Darfur region, as the fighting there has continued to reopen old wounds of ethnic tensions created by the past conflicts in the region. The brutal violence experienced in El Geneina and Sirba is a particularly bad aspect of the situation, which is deeply worrying and could quickly engulf the country in a prolonged ethnic conflict with regional spillover. The initiative that Chad has taken to convene a grouping of Darfurian stakeholders to address the situation in the region is therefore welcome and should be built on, while ensuring the participation of a broad range of stakeholders, including armed groups, tribal leaders and members of civil society and women’s groups.
The situation in the states of South and North Kordofan and the Blue Nile state of the Sudan continues to be fragile, with persistent military actions and frequent road closures. In North Kordofan, the Sudanese Armed Forces control El Obeid city, while the Rapid Support Forces control areas around the city. Since June, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) Al-Hilu faction has continued to make military advancements in the Sudanese Armed Forces-controlled areas in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, which SPLM-N claims is an attempt to take back territory previously taken from it. While the east is relatively calm, there are indications of active mobilization efforts in support of the Sudanese Armed Forces, with the emergence of mobilization committees and the establishment of military training camps. The mobilization is particularly worrisome and risks plunging the east into conflict along ethnic lines, further highlighting the fragility of the region. The northern part of the country remains under the control of the Sudanese Armed Forces. The conflict in the Sudan continues to have immense repercussions on the country and its people who continue to face unimaginable suffering. The humanitarian and protection needs are rising by the day with no signs of a reprieve. My humanitarian colleague, Ms. Edem Wosornu, will brief the Council in detail on the mounting humanitarian needs and response efforts. The indiscriminate and sometimes targeted attacks on civilians and civilian objects and infrastructure continue, particularly in Khartoum, Darfur and North Kordofan, as the parties continue to disregard calls to protect civilians and uphold their international human rights and humanitarian law obligations. Sexual violence continues to be perpetrated on a large scale, while children continue to be killed or victimized or at risk of being recruited to fight.
The systematic abductions and killings of human rights defenders in Darfur and Khartoum are on the rise. The parties to the conflict must take concrete actions to end and investigate those violations and support must be provided to strengthen human rights defenders’ networks and better protect human rights defenders.
The United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in the Sudan (UNITAMS) and the wider United Nations has on several occasions denounced specific egregious violations, such as ethnically motivated attacks in West Darfur, systematic looting and rape and aerial bombardments, and has named those responsible.
Hostilities in the country must come to an end and perpetrators should be held accountable for crimes committed, including sexual violence.
We welcome the ongoing efforts by the African Union (AU) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to end the conflict in the Sudan. UNITAMS remains committed to supporting those efforts, including through the AU-led expanded mechanism and its core group, which the United Nations is a part of. We also welcome the continued efforts of the United States and Saudi Arabia to facilitate negotiations between the conflicting parties in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as well as the initiative of the Sudan’s neighbouring countries to help resolve the conflict. The common thread among those initiatives is the call for a permanent cessation of hostilities, the facilitation of humanitarian access and engagement with civilian stakeholders in an inclusive political process.
Coordination between the existing regional and international mechanisms and forums remains essential to maximize the collective leverage of regional and international actors and enhance the effectiveness of mediation efforts. The United Nations is supporting a joined-up approach towards facilitating a comprehensive solution and will continue to work closely with our partners particularly the African Union and IGAD in that regard, in coordination with others.
We must also highlight that a broad range of civilians remains committed to ending the war and a resumption of a transition leading to a democratic State. Civilians, tribal leaders and others are coming under increasing pressure to take sides in the war, and we continue to urge against that. Such pressure will lead only to a civil war with ethnic and regional repercussions for decades to come. In fact, UNITAMS is supporting efforts by local leaders to prevent or de-escalate conflicts, particularly in Darfur.
UNITAMS also welcomes the ongoing efforts by civilian leaders to consolidate various civilian initiatives under one umbrella to unify anti-war forces in one broad front and prepare for an inclusive political process. It is important to include civil society, women’s rights groups, youth, trade professions and resistance committees whose voices and engagement are particularly significant in any effort to end the conflict in the Sudan. UNITAMS continues its outreach with those initiatives and encourages broadbased inclusivity.
Let me also highlight the important role Sudanese women are playing by leading several anti-war initiatives that call for the immediate cessation of violence; accountability for human rights violations, including sexual violence; and for women’s participation in ceasefire negotiations and any future political process. Their voices must be heard.
Let me close by reiterating that there needs to be a negotiated solution to end the war as soon as possible. There is no other alternative. Calls by some to continue the war in order to achieve a military victory will contribute only to destroying the country. The longer the war continues, the greater the risk of fragmentation and foreign interference, the erosion of sovereignty and the loss of the Sudan’s future, particularly its youth. Now is the time to end this senseless war and return to negotiations. UNITAMS, along with its partners, will continue to engage with both sides towards that goal, and we count on the united support of the Security Council.