UN votes to end political mission in war-torn Sudan

Sudanese soldiers walk near armoured vehicles stationed on a street in southern Khartoum. AFP

The UN Security Council voted on Friday to terminate a political mission in war-torn Sudan after the country's acting Foreign Minister requested the move earlier this month.

Fourteen of the council's 15 members adopted the resolution, while Russia abstained.

The resolution terminates the mandate of the UN mission in the country, known as Unitams, as of December 3, requiring it to wind down over the next three months.

In the text, the council expressed “alarm at the continued violence and humanitarian situation, in particular violations of international humanitarian law and grave human rights violations and abuses” in Sudan.

The document called on all parties to “immediately cease hostilities, facilitate humanitarian access … and seek a negotiated solution to the conflict”.

“Let me be clear: the United Kingdom would not have chosen to close Unitams at this moment,” said James Kariuki, deputy UN ambassador from the UK, which drafted the text.

“The need for the UN and international community to support the Sudanese people has not reduced.”

A UN country team providing humanitarian and development aid will remain in the country.

Unitams was established in June 2020 to provide support to Sudan during its political transition to democratic rule.

In October 2021, the difficult path to civilian government was cut short when army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan assumed full powers in a coup.

In April, before a deal on resuming the transition to democracy could be signed, fighting erupted between the Sudanese army led by Gen Al Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Gen Mohamed Dagalo.

Thousands of civilians have been killed in the fighting and millions displaced.

A few weeks into the conflict, Gen Al Burhan demanded that Unitams chief Volker Perthes be sacked, placing blame for the violence on his shoulders.

Mr Perthes announced in September that he was stepping down, three months after Sudan declared him “persona non grata”.

Last week, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed veteran Algerian diplomat Ramtane Lamamra as his personal envoy for Sudan. The Security Council resolution encourages all parties to co-operate with the new envoy.

The forced departure of Unitams is yet another setback for the UN, which is already facing hostility in other parts of Africa over the efficiency of its political and security missions.

Under pressure from Mali's ruling junta, the Security Council ended its peacekeeping mission in the country in June.

Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, called the decision by the UN Security Council to close the political mission in Sudan “the culmination of its catastrophic abdication of responsibility to the civilians of Sudan at a moment when the risk of atrocities and large-scale human rights abuses is greater than ever”.

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  Sudanese army soldiers, loyal to army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, pose for a picture at the Rapid Support Forces base in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan on April 16. AFP

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  Smoke billows above residential buildings in Khartoum on April 16 as fighting in Sudan raged for a second day in battles between rival generals. AFP

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  Sudanese greet army soldiers in Port Sudan on April 16. AFP

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  Destroyed planes at Khartoum International Airport on April 17. Reuters

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  People flee Khartoum during clashes between the paramilitary RSF and the army on April 19. Reuters

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  A column of smoke rises behind buildings near the airport area in Khartoum on April 19 following the collapse of a 24-hour truce. AFP

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  People flee their neighbourhoods amid fighting between the army and RSF in Khartoum on April 19. AFP

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  Black smoke covers the sky above Khartoum on April 19. AFP

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  Residential buildings damaged in fighting in Khartoum on April 20. AP

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  Sudanese army soldiers sit on top of a tank in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan on April 20. AFP

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  People carry Othman Mohamed, a senior general loyal to Gen Al Burhan, on their shoulders in Port Sudan on April 20. AFP

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  A Sudanese evacuee is embraced after disembarking from a Spanish Air and Space Force plane at Torrejon de Ardoz Airbase, Spain, on April 24. Reuters

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  People gather as they flee clashes between the RSF and the army in Khartoum on April 24. Reuters

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  A member of the Saudi Royal Navy carries a child who was evacuated from Sudan, in Jeddah on April 24. Photo: SPA

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  Greek citizens arrive in Greece from Sudan on board a military plane on April 25. AFP

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  Ali Mazloum, a Lebanese citizen who was evacuated from Sudan, is welcomed upon his arrival at Beirut airport on April 25. Reuters

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  Palestinian evacuees from Sudan arrive at Rafah crossing, between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on April 28. EPA

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  Black smoke rises over Khartoum on April 28. AFP

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  A woman and child evacuated from Sudan arrive in Abu Dhabi on April 29. Reuters

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  Activists demonstrate in front of the White House in Washington, calling on the US to intervene to stop the fighting in Sudan on April 29. AFP

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  Children fleeing Sudan arrive at Wadi Karkar bus station in Aswan, southern Egypt, on April 30. EPA

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  Clouds of black smoke billow over Khartoum as fighting continues on May 1. Reuters

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  A Sudanese refugee who crossed into Chad cooks a meal in a makeshift shelter at a camp in Koufroun, near Echbara, on May 1. AFP

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  People board a Russian military aircraft during an evacuation operation at Khartoum airport on May 2. EPA

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  A boy holds bullet cartridges as clashes between the RSF and the army continue in Khartoum on May 13. Reuters

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  A Sudanese girl who fled the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region carries a pot on her way to collect water near the border between Sudan and Chad on May 12. Reuters

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  Members of staff offload aid supplies provided by the World Health Organisation and UAE Aid from a plane that arrived from the Emirates at Port Sudan on May 5. AFP

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  The UAE sent three aid planes to support the Sudanese people on May 8. Photo: Wam

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  RSF fighters gather near the presidential palace in Khartoum on May 1. AFP

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  A man inspects the damage as he walks near a destroyed building and car in the Azhari district of Khartoum on June 6. AFP

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  Wounded Sudanese refugees who fled conflict in West Darfur receive medical support from Doctors Without Borders and health ministry staff at a hospital in Adre, Chad, on June 16. Reuters

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  Evacuees from Sudan arrive at Baghdad International Airport on June 18. AFP

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  Suad Fissa, 40, an asylum seeker and factory worker from Darfur, cries as she speaks about her missing children in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 24. Reuters