People march on a street in Kassala city of Sudan (Photo: dabangasudan.org) The event, which looked into the situation inSudan and activities of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in thecountry (UNITAMS), saw the presence of Under-Secretary-General for OperationalSupport Atul Khare, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General forSudan Volker Perthes, and representative from Insight Strategy Partners KholoodKhair.
Speakers updated participants on newdevelopments in Sudan over the last three months, including the strides in theimplementation of the peace agreement on October 3 last year between theSudanese Government and the majority of armed groups from Darfur.
They recognised the formation of thetransitional council and the new cabinet but also voiced concern over economichardships, humanitarian issues, and growing violence among communities,especially in Darfur region.
Volker Perthes also informed about initial movesby UNITAMS to support the transitional process in Sudan, affirming that themission will keep close liaison with the Sudanese Government while performingits duties.
Sharing the speakers’ assessment of the recentprogress in Sudan, member states of the UN Security Council held that thereremain numerous difficulties in the African country, especially the escalationof violence among communities, the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact, and economic andhumanitarian crises.
They recommended the Sudanese Government furtherpromote the capacity of protecting civilians in Darfur region and guaranteesafety for the UN – African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) duringthis mission’s withdrawal.
The chargé d’affaires of Sudan in the UN saidthe country’s government will strive to boost the transitional process andrealise its top responsibility of protecting civilians, including those inDarfur.
In his speech, Ambassador Quy, PermanentRepresentative of Vietnam to the UN, highly valued the recent strides in Sudan,expressing his hope that the transitional government and relevant parties therewill keep fully carrying out the peace deal on October 3, 2020, thereby helpingto build long-term peace and stability in the country.
Appreciating the UN, countries, and regionalorganisations’ role in promoting peace and stability in Sudan, he appealed tothe international community to continue humanitarian assistance and furtherfacilitate this country’s access to international financial institutions.
The diplomat said he hopes UNITAMS will soon beput into full operation so as to support the transitional process anddevelopment in Sudan. He also underlined the importance of safety for thewithdrawal of the UNAMID force.
Amid certain security improvement in Darfur, theUN Security Council adopted Resolution 2559 on December 22, 2020, that decidedto end UNAMID’s operations on December 31 the same year and requested thismission to complete the withdrawal between January 1 and June 30, 2021.
The council set up UNITAMS in June 2020 underResolution 2524. This is a political mission whose main duties are supportingthe transitional and peace process, state governance, the mobilisation ofresources for economy and development, and humanitarian assistance. It alsohelps improve the Sudanese Government’s capacity of protecting civilians inDarfur but doesn’t directly engage in the duty like UNAMID./.
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