Sudan: UNSC Vote on a Draft Resolution (Preamble)

"It seems that on 5 March, the Sudanese government sent a letter to the Security Council, conveying its decision to facilitate the entry and delivery of humanitarian aid through several routes, including from Chad through the Tina border crossing; from South Sudan through the Renk border crossing; and through humanitarian flights accessing airports in the cities of Al Fasher, Kadugli, and Al Obeid. The draft resolution in blue includes language welcoming the Sudanese government’s announcement as a positive step." Read more.

From UN Security Council
What's In Blue 
Dated Friday, 8 March 2024, 19:25 GMT - here is a copy in full:

Sudan: Vote on a Draft Resolution

This afternoon (8 March), the Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Sudan during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which starts on 10 March. The draft text was proposed by the UK, the penholder on Sudan. Following the vote on this draft resolution, the Council will vote on a draft resolution extending the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee.

The UK circulated a one-page zero draft to Council members on Monday (4 March), inviting comments on the text until the next day (5 March). The penholder subsequently circulated a revised draft text on Wednesday (6 March) and put it under silence procedure until yesterday (7 March). Russia broke silence, after which some members submitted additional comments. Russia apparently expressed reservations about the need for a Council resolution and proposed a draft presidential statement as an alternative. The penholder subsequently amended the draft resolution, taking into account additional comments and incorporating some elements from Russia’s proposed presidential statement, and put the revised draft text directly into blue yesterday evening.

The draft resolution in blue calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities during the month of Ramadan and for all warring parties to seek a sustainable resolution to the conflict through dialogue. It also calls on all parties to ensure the removal of any obstructions to the delivery of aid and to enable full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access, including cross-border and cross-line, and to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law and the “Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan”, which was signed by the warring parties in Jeddah on 11 May 2023 with the facilitation of Saudi Arabia and the US.

Over the last 11 months, Sudan has been grappling with the devastating political, security, and humanitarian consequences of fighting that erupted on 15 April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan’s military leader and chairperson of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemeti). 

As at 16 February, more than 14,600 people had reportedly been killed since the onset of the conflict, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that collects conflict-related data. 

OCHA’s 23 February Humanitarian Update noted that approximately 8.1 million people have been displaced since the start of the conflict, of whom 1.8 million have fled to neighbouring countries, including the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, and South Sudan. 

In addition, according to the World Food Programme, nearly 18 million people are facing acute food insecurity in Sudan, including almost five million at emergency hunger levels. (For background and more information, see the Sudan brief in our March 2024 Monthly Forecast and our 7 March What’s in Blue story.)

The fighting has continued unabated despite several calls for a ceasefire from regional stakeholders and the broader international community. In his remarks during a Security Council meeting on the situation in Sudan held yesterday, Secretary-General António Guterres cautioned that the Sudanese conflict “could ignite regional instability of dramatic proportions, from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea”. 

He added that there have been renewed offensives in several states, including Khartoum and Al Jazirah, and that the hostilities could expand further east. Guterres expressed alarm about calls for arming civilians and popular mobilisation activities in various states and took note of the involvement of other armed groups, primarily in Darfur and South Kordofan states. All these developments “are pouring fuel on the fire for an even more serious fragmentation of the country, a deepening of intra- and inter-communal tensions, and more ethnic violence”, Guterres said.

In light of the upcoming occasion of Ramadan, Guterres called on the warring parties to observe a cessation of hostilities, a call which most Council members supported in their statements at yesterday’s meeting. Algeria, speaking on behalf of the members of the “A3 plus one” grouping (Algeria, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Guyana), called on the warring parties to declare an immediate ceasefire, to put aside their differences, and to use the opportunity of Ramadan to exercise restraint for ensuring a durable peace in Sudan.

Leaders of several regional and intergovernmental organisations have also called on the Sudanese warring parties to observe a ceasefire during Ramadan. In a 6 March statement, League of Arab States (LAS) Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit urged all the parties to pursue efforts towards peace and dialogue.

He expressed the LAS’ commitment to support efforts to restore peace and stability in Sudan. In a communiqué released earlier today, African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat called on the warring parties to observe a ceasefire across Sudan during Ramadan, saying that this could help facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in need.

In his statement during yesterday’s Council meeting, Sudan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed, conveyed al-Burhan’s message commending Guterres’ appeal for a cessation of hostilities during Ramadan. However, while expressing scepticism about the implementation of a cessation of hostilities in light of continuing attacks by the RSF, he said that “[a]ll those who would like to see that appeal transformed into action are welcome if they would like to present a mechanism for implementation”.

While Council members share concerns about the devastating effects of the ongoing conflict in Sudan, they have diverging views on the tools that the Council should use to address the situation. 

Throughout the negotiations, some members, including China and Russia, apparently pushed back against the need for a Council resolution and instead suggested adopting a presidential statement or a press statement, products which require consensus among Council members. It seems that these members argued for the need to have Council consensus on this subject and to respect the views of the concerned country. 

Commenting on the UK’s proposed draft resolution, China said in its remarks at yesterday’s Council meeting that “the Council’s actions should be conducive to diplomacy and avoid exacerbating tensions”. Despite these objections, the UK decided to continue negotiating the resolution and to put it to a vote today.

The draft resolution in blue encourages Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan Ramtane Lamamra “to use his good offices with the parties and the neighbouring States, complementing and coordinating regional peace efforts”. Lamamra assumed his role in November 2023 and has since been conducting diplomatic efforts, including through engagement with both warring parties and relevant stakeholders. 

Following yesterday’s open session on Sudan, Lamamra briefed Council members in closed consultations on his efforts towards resolving the crisis. (For more information, see our 6 March What’s in Blue story.)

It seems that on 5 March, the Sudanese government sent a letter to the Security Council, conveying its decision to facilitate the entry and delivery of humanitarian aid through several routes, including from Chad through the Tina border crossing; from South Sudan through the Renk border crossing; and through humanitarian flights accessing airports in the cities of Al Fasher, Kadugli, and Al Obeid. The draft resolution in blue includes language welcoming the Sudanese government’s announcement as a positive step.

The penholder made some additions and amendments to the preambular section of the draft resolution to accommodate comments from some Council members. Among other things, the draft resolution in blue, in its preambular paragraphs:

• expresses grave concern over the spreading violence and the deteriorating humanitarian situation, including crisis levels or worse of acute food insecurity, particularly in Darfur;
• takes note of the need for unhindered cross-border and cross-line humanitarian assistance into Darfur and encourages the parties to the conflict to continue working in close partnership with OCHA and international NGOs to ensure the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance;
• expresses concern at ongoing reports of violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights law, including cases of sexual violence in conflict;
• urges continuation and strengthened coordination of regional and international efforts to facilitate an end to the conflict and to restore a lasting inclusive civilian-led democratic transition; and
• welcomes the appointment of an AU High-Level Panel for Sudan and the AU’s commitment to working with the people of Sudan to end the fighting and to put in place a process towards achieving a lasting and inclusive peace, democracy, and justice in Sudan.

Tags: Insights on Africa, Sudan

View original: https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2024/03/sudan-vote-on-a-draft-resolution.php

END

Sudan: UK has circulated a draft UN resolution calling for an immediate end of hostilities ahead of Ramadan

"THE UK has circulated a draft UN resolution calling for an immediate end of hostilities in Sudan ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. 

The British draft resolution expresses ‘grave concern over the spreading violence and the catastrophic and deteriorating humanitarian situation’. 

With Ramadan expected to begin around Sunday, depending on the sighting of the new moon, the council is expected to vote quickly on the resolution, probably on Friday. 

The latest draft on a Sudan ceasefire was circulated on the same day the head of the UN food agency warned that the Sudan conflict “risks triggering the world’s largest hunger crisis” as global attention is focused on the Israel-Hamas war. 

The proposed UN resolution calls on all parties to remove obstructions and allow “full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access” including across Sudan’s borders and across conflict lines.

The draft also urges strengthened co-ordination of several regional and international efforts “to facilitate an end to the conflict and to restore a lasting inclusive civilian-led democratic transition.” 

The US is negotiating on its own proposed Gaza resolution with the latest draft calling for a “ceasefire of roughly six weeks in Gaza together with the release of all hostages” as soon as Israel and Hamas agree. The draft makes no mention of Ramadan."  Read more.

From The Irish News

By Edith M Lederer, Associated Press

Dated Thursday, March 07, 2024 at 3:36AM GMT

UN resolution calling for end to hostilities in Sudan ahead of Ramadan

The British draft resolution expresses ‘grave concern over the spreading violence and the catastrophic and deteriorating humanitarian situation’.

Full story: https://www.irishnews.com/news/world/un-resolution-calling-for-end-to-hostilities-in-sudan-ahead-of-ramadan-4EQJ622VTNJ5ZHTECA4OWM3DF4/

_______________________________

Related 

From Sudan Tribune - undated, here is a copy in full: 

Fikra for Studies and Development urges Security Council to endorse UK draft resolution for ceasefire in Sudan

Fikra for Studies and Development welcomes the UK draft resolution submitted to the UN Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan. We hope that the Security Council will adopt this resolution under Chapter VII of the UN Charter and that it will include clear and effective enforcement, implementation, and monitoring mechanisms to ensure its application on the ground.

The resolution should emphasize the need to adhere to the principles of the Jeddah Declaration for the Protection of Civilians, signed by the warring parties on May 11, 2023. It should also reaffirm the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) principle adopted by the UN in 2005, to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid and the cessation of violations against Sudanese civilians, especially in Darfur, Khartoum, and Al Gezira states.

If adopted by the Security Council and successfully implemented, this resolution will pave the way for a permanent ceasefire, opening the door for a rational political process to end the civil war that has been ongoing in Sudan since April 15, 2023.

Fikra for Studies and Development calls on the members of the Security Council to vote to pass this resolution. We also call on the African Union, the Arab League, and IGAD to support this resolution by urgently contacting all members of the Security Council and encourage them to vote in favor of this resolution. We further call on the five permanent members of the Security Council not to use their veto power to block the passage of this resolution.

We reiterate our call to the UN and its humanitarian agencies to declare a state of severe famine of phase 5 at the national level in Sudan and to address the humanitarian situation accordingly.

The current situation in Sudan represents the largest humanitarian catastrophe of our time, in terms of the number of displaced and refugee people, the widespread famine, the severe food shortages, and the horrors faced by the Sudanese people due to the ongoing war. The international community must act now effectively to stop this ongoing suffering.

View original: https://sudantribune.com/article282996/

END

UN experts: Sudan’s paramilitary forces carried out ethnic killings and rapes that may be war crimes - Darfur is experiencing “its worst violence since 2005”

EDITH LEDERER, an exceptional war journalist with 50 years experience, never fails to produce well written, accurate news reports devoid of sensationalism and spin. Proper reporting. Here is a good example. 

This report by Ms Lederer today states that a UN panel of experts said Darfur is experiencing “its worst violence since 2005.” Also, according to the panel, the “RSF’s takeover of Darfur relied on three lines of support: the Arab allied communities, dynamic and complex financial networks, and new military supply lines running through Chad, Libya and South Sudan.” 

Also, "while both the Sudanese military and RSF engaged in widespread recruitment drives across Darfur from late 2022, the RSF was more successful, the experts said. And it “invested large proceeds from its pre-war gold business in several industries, creating a network of as many as 50 companies.” The RSF’s complex financial networks “enabled it to acquire weapons, pay salaries, fund media campaigns, lobby, and buy the support of other political and armed groups,” the experts said". Read more.

From The Associated Press (AP)
BY EDITH M. LEDERER
Dated Friday, 01 March 2024, Updated 6:26 AM GMT. Here is a copy in full:

UN experts: Sudan’s paramilitary forces carried out ethnic killings and rapes that may be war crimes

FILE - Residents displaced from a surge of violent attacks squat on blankets and in hastily made tents in the village of Masteri in west Darfur, Sudan, on July 30, 2020. Paramilitary forces and their allied militias fighting to take power in Sudan carried out widespread ethnic killings and rapes while taking control of much of western Darfur that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to a new report to the U.N. Security Council, obtained Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, by The Associated Press. (Mustafa Younes via AP, File)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Paramilitary forces and their allied militias fighting to take power in Sudan carried out widespread ethnic killings and rapes while taking control of much of western Darfur that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, United Nations experts said in a new report.

The report to the U.N. Security Council, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, paints a horrifying picture of the brutality of the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces against Africans in Darfur. It also details how the RSF succeeded in gaining control of four out of Darfur’s five states, including through complex financial networks that involve dozens of companies.

Sudan plunged into chaos in April, when long-simmering tensions between its military led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, broke out into street battles in the capital, Khartoum.

Fighting spread to other parts of the country, but in Sudan’s Darfur region it took on a different form: brutal attacks by the RSF on African civilians, especially the ethnic Masalit.

Two decades ago, Darfur became synonymous with genocide and war crimes, particularly by the notorious Janjaweed Arab militias against populations that identify as Central or East African. It seems that legacy has returned, with the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor Karim Khan saying in late January there are grounds to believe both sides are committing possible war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide in Darfur.

The panel of experts said Darfur is experiencing “its worst violence since 2005.”

The ongoing conflict has caused a large-scale humanitarian crisis and displaced approximately 6.8 million people — 5.4 million within Sudan and 1.4 million who have fled to other countries, including approximately 555,000 to neighboring Chad, the experts said.

The RSF and rival Sudanese government forces have both used heavy artillery and shelling in highly populated areas, causing widespread destruction of critical water, sanitation, education and health care facilities.

In their 47-page report, the experts said the RSF and its militias targeted sites in Darfur where displaced people had found shelter, civilian neighborhoods and medical facilities.

According to intelligence sources, the panel said, in just one city — Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state near the Chad border — between 10,000 and 15,000 people were killed.

The experts said sexual violence by the RSF and its allied militia was widespread.

The panel said that, according to reliable sources from Geneina, women and girls as young as 14 years old were raped by RSF elements in a U.N. World Food Program storage facility that the paramilitary force controlled, in their homes, or when returning home to collect belongings after being displaced by the violence. Additionally, 16 girls were reportedly kidnapped by RSF soldiers and raped in an RSF house.

“Racial slurs toward the Masalit and non-Arab community formed part of the attacks,” the panel said. “Neighborhoods and homes were continuously attacked, looted, burned and destroyed,” especially those where Masalit and other African communities lived, and their people were harassed, assaulted, sexually abused, and at times executed.

The experts said prominent Masalit community members were singled out by the RSF, which had a list, and the group’s leaders were harassed and some executed. At least two lawyers, three prominent doctors and seven staff members, and human rights activists monitoring and reporting on the events were also killed, they said.

The RSF and its allied militias looted and destroyed all hospitals and medical storage facilities, which resulted in the collapse of health services and the deaths of 37 women with childbirth complications and 200 patients needing kidney dialysis, the panel said.

After the killing of the wali, or governor, of West Darfur in June, the report said, Masalit and African communities decided to seek protection at Ardamata, just outside Geneina. A convoy of thousands moved out at midnight but as they reached a bridge, RSF and allied militias indiscriminately opened fire, and survivors reported that an estimated 1,000 people were killed, they said.

The panel stressed that disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks on civilians — including torture, rapes and killings as well as destruction of critical civilian infrastructure — constitute war crimes under the 1949 Geneva conventions.

The RSF was formed out of Janjaweed fighters by Sudan’s former President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country for three decades, was overthrown during a popular uprising in 2019, and is wanted by the International Criminal Court for charges of genocide and other crimes during the conflict in Darfur in the 2000s.

According to the panel, the “RSF’s takeover of Darfur relied on three lines of support: the Arab allied communities, dynamic and complex financial networks, and new military supply lines running through Chad, Libya and South Sudan.”

While both the Sudanese military and RSF engaged in widespread recruitment drives across Darfur from late 2022, the RSF was more successful, the experts said. And it “invested large proceeds from its pre-war gold business in several industries, creating a network of as many as 50 companies.”

The RSF’s complex financial networks “enabled it to acquire weapons, pay salaries, fund media campaigns, lobby, and buy the support of other political and armed groups,” the experts said.

United States Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who visited Chad in September, called the report’s findings “horrific” and expressed “deep disappointment” that the U.N. Security Council and the international community have paid such little attention to the allegations.

“The people of Sudan feel that they have been forgotten,” she said.

In light of the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan and the broader region, Thomas-Greenfield demanded that the Sudanese military lift its prohibition on cross-border assistance from Chad and facilitate cross-line assistance from the east. She also demanded in a statement Wednesday that the RSF halt the looting of humanitarian warehouses and that both parties stop harassing humanitarian aid workers.

“The council must act urgently to alleviate human suffering, hold perpetrators to account, and bring the conflict in Sudan to an end,” the U.S. ambassador said. “Time is running out.”

Source: https://apnews.com/article/sudan-paramilitary-ethnic-killings-united-nations-report-37eb2b6980e029d5603d83401619c85d

END

Sudan hit by internet blackout as conflict continues

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: This site hasn't had visits from Sudan or S. Sudan in past week. A job seeker in Khartoum wrote in to say he's unable to complete job applications online due to patchy connectivity and electricity. 

The internet and telecoms blackout might not be caused by RSF terrorists. Could be SAF and its allies on the move under cover to retake Aj Jazirah from RSF. Iran, Russia and others are good at hacking too. 

Sudan hit by internet outage: the affected areas include Khartoum, Darfur, Kordofan, and some Gezira states - mostly areas that are under control of RSF terrorist group. Photo credit: TechReport

__________________________

Report at BBC News
By Danai Nesta Kupemba, BBC News 
Dated Wednesday, 7 February 2024 - here is a copy in full:

Sudan hit by internet blackout as civil war continues

IMAGE SOURCE, REUTERS. Image caption, Some Sudanese providers have been experiencing problems since Friday

Sudan has been plunged into an internet blackout with many blaming the paramilitary group fighting the army in the country's 10-month civil war.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has denied responsibility.

NetBlocks, a watchdog that monitors internet freedom, said on X, there had been a "new collapse of internet connectivity" in Sudan.

It comes as a Sudanese hacktivist group targeted Uganda for welcoming the RSF leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

NetBlocks said it had found a disruption to the services of internet providers Uganda Telecom and MTN, although a BBC reporter in the capital Kampala said he did not notice any problems.

In Sudan, some people have reported being unable to access the internet since Friday but the situation has since got even worse.

State-aligned media have blamed the RSF.

However, according to the Sudan Tribune news site, an RSF official accused the army of issuing direct orders to sever communication in parts of Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum, and Gezira states, which are largely under the control of the paramilitary group.

NetBlocks said on Wednesday that the one of the major mobile operators in Sudan, Zain, was "largely offline".

In a statement posted on Facebook, Zain said that it was "working under very difficult, harsh, and dangerous circumstances".

It added that the "current network outage is due to circumstances beyond its will".

Two other providers, South African-owned MTN Sudan and state-owned Sudani, were operating at zero on Friday, according to NetBlocks.

The network outage adds another layer of hardship to a nation at war.

In response to the ongoing conflict, the United Nations has appealed for $4.1bn (£3.25bn) to address the urgent humanitarian needs of those in Sudan and people who have been forced to flee their homes.

At least nine million people have been displaced, while some 25 million - half the entire population - need assistance, the UN says. 

"Ten months of conflict have robbed the people of Sudan of nearly everything - their safety, their homes and their livelihoods," said the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths.

He added that the situation in Sudan needed to be addressed with a "heightened sense of urgency".

More stories on Sudan:

• ‘Our lives have become a piece of hell in Sudan’
• My family buried my grandmother while ducking bullets
• 'I saw bodies dumped in Sudan mass grave'
• Why Sudan's descent into violence matters

Related Topics

Sudan

Around the BBC

Focus on Africa podcast

View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68228340

END