Showing posts with label Switzerland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Switzerland. Show all posts

Friday, March 22, 2024

FULL TEXT: UK statement at the UN Security Council: The risk of famine in Sudan is of extreme concern

NOTE, the UK and the US are permanent Members of the UN Security Council. The UK is the penholder on Sudan. The US is penholder on South Sudan, Sudan/South Sudan, Sudan sanctions and South Sudan sanctions. 


Here is a transcript of a speech delivered in the UN Security Council meeting on Sudan by UK Ambassador James Kariuki on 20 March 2024.


Speech

The risk of famine in Sudan is of extreme concern: UK statement at the UN Security Council


Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on Sudan 


From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and James Kariuki

Published 20 March 2024


Location: United Nations, New York

Delivered on: 20 March 2024 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)


Thank you, President. I thank Ms Wosornu, Mr Martina and Mr Skau for their briefing. We are grateful to OCHA, WFP and FAO for alerting the Council to this urgent crisis. And to Switzerland and Guyana for convening the Council so swiftly. I welcome the participation of the Representative of Sudan.


President, the risk of famine in Sudan, set out in OCHA’s White Note, is of extreme concern.  After a bad harvest, severe hunger will deepen, harming vulnerable people the most. Most of the fatalities will be children under five. We pay tribute to the UN, international and Sudanese humanitarian staff working in extreme conditions to alleviate this suffering.


I’ll make three points:


First, the White Note is clear that obstruction of humanitarian access by the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces is resulting in the starvation of the Sudanese people. Using starvation as a method of warfare is prohibited by international humanitarian law. 


The Sudanese authority’s decision to allow extremely limited humanitarian access from Chad is nowhere near enough to meet the soaring humanitarian needs, especially whilst crossline access remains completely blocked.


We call on the warring parties to urgently ensure and facilitate unimpeded access via all routes, both cross-border and crossline, including through the vital route at Adre.


Second, we need increased humanitarian funding.


The United Kingdom has provided over $54 million in humanitarian aid to the people of Sudan this financial year. And we are providing financial support to those fleeing to neighbouring countries.


We welcome the upcoming France, German and EU-hosted pledging event, and appeal to the international community to increase funding to avoid the horrific scenario of one million excess deaths in Sudan this year. 


But while funding is important, this man-made crisis ultimately requires a political solution.


So third, the fighting needs to stop. The world is witnessing the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of a conflict that should never have begun.  


The failure of the SAF and RSF to implement a Ramadan ceasefire and immediately facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access in line with Council resolution 2724, is unacceptable. We call on both to stop fighting immediately and return to negotiations.


Given the clear warning of impending famine, it is imperative that the Council remains siezed of this issue and that we hold ourselves, and the warring parties, accountable for delivering the recommendations in the White Note.


Published 20 March 2024


View original: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-risk-of-famine-in-sudan-is-of-extreme-concern-uk-statement-at-the-un-security-council


END

Thursday, June 15, 2023

UNSC: Briefing on “The Values of Human Fraternity”

NOTE, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) holds UNSC presidency this month. A high-level briefing held by the UNSC June 14th focuses on human fraternity. Hopefully nice and friendly, joining hands in friendship for peace.

Report at What's In Blue
Dated Wednesday 14 June 2023 - full copy:

Briefing on “The Values of Human Fraternity” and Vote on a Draft Resolution on Tolerance and International Peace and Security

This morning (14 June), as one of the signature events of its Council presidency, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will convene a high-level briefing on “The Values of Human Fraternity in Promoting and Sustaining Peace” under the “Maintenance of international peace and security” agenda item. 


UAE Minister of State Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi will chair the meeting. The expected briefers are Secretary-General António Guterres; Sheikh Ahmed Muhammed Ahmed Aṭ-Ṭayyeb, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar; Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations of the Holy See; and a civil society representative.


In the afternoon, members are expected to vote on a draft resolution on tolerance and international peace and security co-authored by the UAE and the UK. This is a parallel—although related—initiative to this morning’s high-level briefing on human fraternity.


High-level Briefing


During the 1 June press conference on the Security Council’s programme of work for the month, Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh (UAE) said that the Security Council “has not always consistently addressed hate speech, racism and other forms of extremism as threat multipliers that drive the outbreak, escalation and recurrence of conflict”, adding that it was a key priority for the UAE to “push for a more consistent and effective approach”.


According to the concept note prepared by the UAE ahead of today’s meeting, the briefing intends to highlight the “impact of intolerance, hate speech and incitement to hatred, racism and other manifestations of extremism in exacerbating threats across the peace continuum”. The concept note says that one of the objectives of the meeting is “to raise awareness of the pivotal role that the values of human fraternity can play in promoting and sustaining peace and preventing intolerance and extremism” and to strengthen measures by the UN, member states, and other actors to address the “drivers of intolerance and extremism”.


The concept note poses several questions to help guide the discussion at today’s meeting, including:

  • What gaps exist in the current UN peace operations and peacebuilding mechanisms to address conflict exacerbated by hate speech, intolerance, racism, and other manifestations of extremism?
  • What measures and approaches can the international community, including the Security Council, take to address intolerance and hate speech and promote reconciliation and peacebuilding in conflict-affected societies?
  • How can we strengthen the role of religious and community leaders, including women leaders, to promote tolerance and coexistence and prevent the abuse of religion?

At today’s meeting, some members may welcome the theme of the high-level briefing and say that it can make a useful contribution to Council discussions. Other members may take a more circumspect approach and underscore the importance of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Members may highlight a range of factors that can strengthen societies’ resilience and capacity to build sustainable peace—such as education and the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women—and highlight exclusion and inequality as root causes of conflict. Some participants may share examples of interreligious and intercultural dialogues and of mediation and reconciliation processes led by religious and community leaders.


Draft Resolution


The initiative for a Security Council resolution on tolerance and international peace and security is consistent with previous efforts by the UAE and the UK on similar issues at the UN. For instance, the UAE—together with Bahrain, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia—led an initiative for a General Assembly resolution proclaiming 4 February as the International Day of Human Fraternity, which was adopted by consensus on 21 December 2020 (A/RES/75/200). 


In March 2021, the UK organised an Arria-formula meeting titled “Religion, Belief and Conflict: the protection of members of religious and belief groups in conflict and religious actors in conflict resolution”. 


It seems that the UK had also circulated a draft resolution on the issues covered in the Arria-formula meeting to the five permanent members of the Council. However, the initiative was apparently shelved following opposition from at least one permanent member.


On 16 May, the UAE and the UK circulated the first draft of a resolution on tolerance and international peace and security and then presented it to Council members at an informal meeting on 18 May. After holding a first round of negotiations on 22 May, the co-penholders circulated a revised draft of the resolution on 25 May. Following a second round of negotiations on 30 May, a second revised draft was circulated on 2 June and put under silence until 5 June. 


Silence was broken by France and Switzerland and, separately, by the US. After silence was broken, Malta expressed support for the issues raised by France, Switzerland, and the US. Other members—including Brazil, China, Japan, Ecuador, and Russia—later sent comments. Following the silence break, the co-penholders engaged bilaterally with members over several days with the aim of resolving a number of outstanding issues. On 12 June, a third revised draft was circulated and put under silence until 11 am yesterday (13 June). However, France and Switzerland again broke silence. After additional consultations, a further draft was put in blue yesterday evening and a vote was scheduled for this afternoon.


The draft resolution in blue recognises that “hate speech, racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, related forms of intolerance, gender discrimination, and acts of extremism can contribute to driving the outbreak, escalation and recurrence of conflict” and urges states and international and regional organisations “to publicly condemn violence, hate speech and extremism motivated by discrimination including on the grounds of race, ethnicity, gender, religion or language, in a manner consistent with applicable international law, including the right to freedom of expression”. It also underlines “the potential contributions of ethnic, religious and confessional communities and religious leaders” to the prevention and resolution of conflicts as well as to reconciliation and peacebuilding, among other issues.


The negotiations on the draft resolution were difficult. A fundamental issue for some Council members was to adequately balance language addressing the use of hate speech in the draft text with language protecting human rights, in particular freedom of expression. It seems that at least one member expressed concern that proposed language on hate speech fell below the standard set in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. While some language on human rights was added in response to these concerns—including, in the third revised draft, a reference to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights—it seems that when France and Switzerland broke silence yesterday they argued that the balance presented in the third draft was still unsatisfactory.


A specific concern for several members—including Brazil, France, Malta, Switzerland, and the US—was the use in the draft resolution of the term “extremism” without it being preceded by the qualifier “violent”. These members stressed that the unqualified use of the term “extremism” was too broad, and expressed concern about endorsing language that could be used restrictively, including to target freedom of expression. In the days preceding the vote, some civil society organisations, too, warned against the use of the term “extremism” not qualified by “violent” in the draft resolution.


It seems that the co-penholders maintained that a key objective of the resolution was to address extremism before it reaches the point of being violent, including through the promotion of tolerance and peaceful coexistence as preventive measures. During the negotiations, they added language contextualising references to “extremism” by, for instance, referring to “extremism driving the outbreak, escalation and recurrence of conflict”. After France and Switzerland broke silence on 13 June, a direct reference to “the right to freedom of expression” was added to a paragraph urging states, regional and international organisations “to publicly condemn violence, hate speech and extremism” in a manner consistent with international law. References to “violent extremism”, however, were not included in the draft text in blue. At the time of writing, it was unclear if the changes made on this issue will be sufficient to address the concerns raised by France and Switzerland.


A key goal for some Council members during the negotiations was to widen the overall scope of the draft resolution from focusing mainly on intolerance and discrimination on religious grounds to also include other grounds of discrimination. Arguing for a more inclusive approach to tolerance, members such as Ecuador, France, Switzerland, and Malta asked for stronger language on human rights, gender, and women, peace and security (WPS) to be included in the draft. It seems that China and Russia opposed this language, and that, after silence was broken on 5 June, Russia asked for all text on WPS and human rights to be removed from the draft. Such language was, nevertheless, gradually strengthened in the course of the negotiations.


While some members apparently supported the use of the term “fraternity” in the resolution, others opposed it, citing, among other issues, the gendered and non-inclusive root of the term and the lack of clarity around the term’s meaning. An additional concern was that references to “human fraternity” in the draft resolution could be interpreted as endorsing the content of the 4 February 2019 document on “Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together” signed by Pope Francis and Grand Imam of al-Azhar Aṭ-Ṭayyeb; particularly its condemnation of abortion. To address these concerns, the co-penholders deleted a reference to the 4 February 2019 meeting and removed all language on “human fraternity” except for text taking note of the International Day of Human Fraternity proclaimed by the 21 December 2020 General Assembly resolution.


Another friction point was a reporting requirement proposed by the co-penholders. The first draft text requested the Secretary-General to submit an annual report to the Council on the resolution’s implementation. It appears that introducing a regular reporting requirement was an important issue for the co-penholders, who argued that regularly receiving information on issues such as hate speech, extremism, and intolerance could help the Council better to tackle these issues and, ultimately, prevent conflict. 


However, at different points in the negotiations, several members expressed reservations about the proposed annual report. While some members’ concerns were related to the possible budgetary implications of the reporting requirement, it appears that other members altogether challenged the need for a periodic report on the implementation of the resolution.


In an apparent compromise, the draft resolution in blue requests the Secretary-General to provide, by 14 June 2024, an oral briefing to the Council on “the implementation of this resolution in the context of situations throughout the peace continuum which are on the agenda of the Council” during a public meeting under the “Maintenance of international peace and security” agenda item. The draft text in blue also requests that the Secretary-General swiftly inform the Council “about threats to international peace and security in this regard”.


Tags: Insights on Peacebuilding, Peacebuilding


Original: https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2023/06/briefing-on-the-values-of-human-fraternity-and-vote-on-a-draft-resolution-on-tolerance-and-international-peace-and-security.php


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Sunday, April 30, 2023

Sudan: ICRC’s first international shipment of humanitarian aid arrives in Port Sudan

News and photos released from

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Sunday 30 April 2023 - (SW Ed: yellow highlighting is mine) - full copy:

Sudan: ICRC’s first international shipment of humanitarian aid arrives in Port Sudan 

Geneva (ICRC) - Life-saving medical material departed from Amman, Jordan to Port Sudan today as part of emergency operations by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) following the outbreak of conflict in Sudan.


The 8 tonnes of humanitarian cargo includes surgical material to support Sudanese hospitals and volunteers from the Sudan Red Crescent Society (SRCS) who are providing medical care to people wounded in the fighting.

“Health-care workers in Sudan have been doing the impossible, caring for the wounded without water, electricity, and basic medical supplies,” said Patrick Youssef, ICRC’s regional director for Africa. “The logistics needed to bring in supplies amid an active conflict are extremely difficult, and we’re relieved to get this medical material into the country.”


The medical shipment includes anaesthetics, dressings, sutures and other surgical material that can treat thousands of people who may have been wounded by weapons. With hostilities still ongoing, ICRC teams will need guarantees of safe passage from the parties to the conflict to deliver this material to medical facilities in locations with active fighting, such as Khartoum.

 

Since commercial flights in Sudan were discontinued and civilian airspace became inaccessible, the ICRC has been working to overcome logistical and security challenges to help civilians in need who are trapped in the fighting. Delivering medical supplies to hospitals and helping them restore water and power lines remains its urgent priority.


The ICRC is grateful for the support of the authorities in Jordan -- where the ICRC has a major logistics hub -- who rapidly made an aircraft available to deliver this medical cargo. We also appreciate the cooperation shown by the civilian Sudanese authorities in charge of facilitating the arrival of aircraft with humanitarian goods and personnel on board.


The ICRC is sending a second airplane carrying additional ICRC medical supplies and emergency personnel.


The ICRC reminds the parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and to facilitate the work of medical and humanitarian personnel, treat detainees humanely and take all feasible precautions to avoid loss of life among civilians and damage to civilian objects and infrastructure.  


Note to editors: 

The ICRC has been present in Sudan since 1978 helping people affected by the conflict in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan. The ICRC’s work today, independently or in cooperation the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, includes supporting hospitals and health facilities with equipment and supplies, working with local water authorities on improving people’s access to clean water and supporting the authorities in providing rehabilitation services for people with disabilities.

                                              

Media contacts:
Alyona Synenko, ICRC Nairobi,
+254 716 897 265, asynenko@icrc.org

Crystal Wells, ICRC Geneva,
+41 77 963 75 74, cwells@icrc.org


Jessica Moussan ICRC Dubai,

+971 504 254 091, jmoussan@icrc.org 


Fatima Sator, ICRC Geneva,
+41 79 848 49 08, fsator@icrc.org


Imene Trabelsi, ICRC Beirut,
+961 3 13 83 53, itrabelsi@icrc.org


Alaa Nayel, ICRC Kuwait,
+965 966 73614, anayel@icrc.org


Matthew Morris, ICRC London,
+44 7753 809471 mmorris@icrc.org 

Galina Balzamova, ICRC Moscow,
+7 093 545 3534, gbalzamova@icrc.org

Frédéric Joli, ICRC Paris,
+33 6 20 49 46 30, fjoli@icrc.org


Yuriy Shafarenko, ICRC New York,
+1 917 631 1913, yshafarenko@icrc.org

Elizabeth Shaw, ICRC Washington DC,
+1 202 361 1566, egormanshaw@icrc.org


View original: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/sudan-first-international-shipment-humanitarian-aid-arrives-port-sudan


السودان: وصول أول شحنة مساعدات إنسانية دولية للّجنة الدولية إلى بورتسودان


[Ends]

Sunday, April 23, 2023

French rescue 100+ from Sudan and helped Greece evacuate some of its citizens, including 2 wounded

Report from International Business Times.com

By Agence France-Presse News (AFP)


Sunday 23 April 2023 a 4:30 PM EDT


French Rescue More Than 100 From Sudan

Those evacuated so far include people from Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Ethiopia and Morocco, said one official AFP


More than 100 people have been evacuated from Sudan on the first French flight out of the war-hit country after a "complicated" rescue operation, French officials said on Sunday.


According to a Djibouti airport source, 106 people landed in Djibouti by late afternoon, while a French official said another flight was on the way.


"A plane has landed and another is in the air", each plane allowing the evacuation of "a hundred people", the French military said.


The first rescue flight to Djibouti carried citizens from Britain, France, Germany, and Switzerland as well as African nations such as Ethiopia and Morocco, an official from the foreign ministry said on condition of anonymity.


And the foreign ministry in Athens said France had helped it evacuated some of its citizens, including two wounded.


"They're tired, tense, but very relieved to have arrived safe and sound," he said.


The evacuees had to cross the frontline of fighting around the capital Khartoum to board the planes, with the French embassy helping negotiate a ceasefire with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that is battling the army.


"I must stress the complicated nature of this operation," the official said.


Some 150 troops were deployed including "elements of protection, others of reconnaissance, logistical support and medical personnel", in a "volatile situation", where the two sides "continue to wage war, even during the truces", the French general staff said.


Reconnaissance operations were carried out to "secure" the routes taken by the civilians to get to an airport in the Khartoum region, said this source.


Asked about unconfirmed reports that a French national had been injured on Sunday when the rescue convoy was fired upon, a defence ministry official declined to comment.


"With the operation ongoing, we do not want to comment on this type of rumour," an official from the defence ministry said, speaking during the same briefing with reporters.


They gave details of the long planning process and negotiations leading up to Sunday's operations.


Locating French and other foreign nationals has been difficult because of the lack of phone network coverage and electricity.


An evacuation mission by road was considered, but then discarded due to security concerns as well as the difficulties in supplying it with food and fuel.


Once the airborne option was chosen, President Emmanuel Macron called his Ethiopian counterpart to request permission for the flights to use Ethiopian air space on their way to Djibouti.


"We had difficulties with some countries which had closed their air space," the foreign ministry official said.


A doctor was on board the French plane to assist evacuees, many of whom were "understandably psychologically affected" by their ordeal in Khartoum where food and fuel are in short supply, the official added.


Other French rescue flights are expected on Monday morning.


© Copyright AFP 2023. All rights reserved.


View original: 

https://www.ibtimes.com/french-rescue-more-100-sudan-3688382

[Ends]

Saturday, April 22, 2023

Top US, Sudanese generals discuss safety of Americans in call. UN and others work to extract staff

Report from Alarabiya.net

By Reuters

Published: 22 April 2023: 02:07 AM GST

Updated: 22 April 2023: 02:42 AM GST


Top US, Sudanese generals discuss safety of Americans in call

PHOTO United States Army General Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Rayburn House Office building on Capitol Hill on September 29, 2021 in Washington, DC. (AFP)


The top US general discussed the safety of Americans in Sudan during a phone call with Sudan’s army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, on Friday, the Pentagon said, as Washington considers a possible embassy evacuation amid fighting in Sudan’s capital.


“The two leaders discussed the safety of Americans and the developing situation in Sudan,” said a statement from Army General Mark Milley’s office. Milley is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.


Forces commanded by two previously allied leaders of Sudan’s ruling council began a violent power struggle last weekend. Hundreds have died so far, and a nation reliant on food aid has been tipped into what the United Nations calls a humanitarian catastrophe.


Read more:


[…] Washington has said private American citizens in Sudan should have no expectation of a US government-coordinated evacuation. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said the United States was in touch with several hundred American citizens understood to be in Sudan.


Earlier on Friday, the State Department confirmed the death of one US citizen in the country.


UN works to extract staff

Other countries and the United Nations are also looking at how they can evacuate citizens and employees.


The UN has been trying to extract staff from “very dangerous” zones in Sudan to move them to safer locations, the top UN aid official in Sudan, Abdou Dieng, said on Thursday. Dieng said he had been moved to a safer area on Wednesday.


The UN has about 4,000 staff in Sudan, of which 800 are international staff. A UN source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were a further 6,000 UN staff family members and associated personnel in Sudan.


Switzerland said on Friday it was examining ways to evacuate nationals from Sudan, and Sweden said it will evacuate embassy staff and families as soon as possible.


Spanish military aircraft are on standby and ready to evacuate some 60 Spanish nationals and others from Khartoum, and South Korea sent a military aircraft to stand by at a US military base in Djibouti to evacuate its nationals when possible.


View original: https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2023/04/22/US-military-prepares-options-for-possible-Sudan-evacuation

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Thursday, October 28, 2021

Sudan's PM Hamdok, detained after coup, is home

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor:  Although I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the following report, I am posting it here because it provides some details about Sudan's Prime Minister Hamdok and his wife. Sadly, I have not found any reliable news about Mr Hamdok's cabinet colleagues, their current whereabouts and how they are being treated. I am reluctant to post this report here today but am confident that Mr Hamdok and his wife have been released safely. Reportedly, they were abducted and detained at the home of Sudan's coup leader Gen. Burhan. More on this at a later date.   
















Photo, Sudan's head of the military Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhan speaks during a press conference at the General Command of the Armed Forces in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali)


Sudan’s prime minister, detained after coup, returns home

Report at Fox17 dot com 

Written by SAMY MAGDY, Associated Press (AP) 

Published Wednesday 27 October 2021 


Sudan's deposed prime minister and his wife were allowed to return home Tuesday, a day after they were detained when the military seized power in a coup, according to a statement issued by his office.

The release of Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and his wife followed international condemnation of the coup and calls for the military to release all the government officials who were detained when Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan seized power on Monday.

The statement by Hamdok's office said other government officials remained in detention, their locations unknown. The deposed prime minister and his wife were under "heavy security" at home in the upscale Kafouri neighborhood of the capital Khartoum, said a military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. The official did not say whether they were free to leave or make calls.

Earlier in the day, Burhan said Hamdok had been held for his own safety and would be released. But he warned that other members of the dissolved government could face trial as protests against the putsch continued in the streets.

View full report plus 14 photos here:  https://fox17.com/news/nation-world/sudans-prime-minister-detained-after-coup-returns-home

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Swiss military observers to go to Sudan

Military observers to go to southern Sudan
From swissinfo.ch and agencies, Wednesday, 28 April 2010:
(Switzerland) - The government has agreed to allow unarmed military observers to be sent to the United Nations mission in Sudan (Unmis), the defence ministry said on Wednesday.

The UN last month requested two observers to join the peacekeeping mission to carry out duties including monitoring, reporting and mediation in tense situations.

Since the UN is likely to submit further similar requests, the government decided to approve the dispatch of up to four observers.

Unmis was established in 2005 to oversee the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which ended more than 20 years of civil war between north and south Sudan. The CPA gave the south a large measure of autonomy and provided for a referendum on independence, which is due to be held in 2011.

The task of Unmis is to provide humanitarian help, monitor the observance of human rights and support the reform of the security forces, the establishment of a legal system and the restructuring of the police.

It is separate from the joint UN and African Union mission in Darfur, Unamid, for which Switzerland has also agreed to dispatch four unarmed observers.

The Sudanese government has limited the allocation of visas to westerners attached to Unamid, and therefore no Swiss has been sent yet. However, westerners attached to Unmis have not had visa problems.

swissinfo.ch and agencies

Friday, October 09, 2009

Sudanese delegation visits Switzerland in a mission to learn about federalism

A 17-member official Sudanese delegation was visiting Switzerland, in a mission to learn about federalism.

"We are learning how the system works and whether it can help us in Sudan with out diversities as well," said John Ukec Lueth Ukec, Sudan's ambassador to Switzerland.

Switzerland, with four language groups, religious divides and other difference between regions, has prided itself on its strong decentralized system of allocating much power to the cantons to ensure stability.

The Sudanese were also in Europe seeking help from the international community, for development and humanitarian assistance.

Source:  Earth Times by DPA Friday, 09 Oct 2009.  Copy:
Sudan denies destabilizing neigbouring Chad: ambassador
(Geneva) - Sudan is seeking good relations with its neighbours, particularly Chad, its ambassador to Switzerland said Friday - adding he hoped for an end to the internal conflicts in Sudan too. "We do not want to have any problems with Chad ... we want peaceful relations with Chad," said John Ukec Lueth Ukec, Sudan's ambassador to Switzerland. "Currently, we have good relations," the diplomat added.

He said allegations that Khartoum was working to destabilize its neighbor were false and noted that the two countries recently exchanged ambassadors.

"Chad has lots of potential to be destabilized by its own rebels," Ukec told reporters in Geneva.

The countries have had fraught relations, in part relating to rebel groups in each country reportedly getting support from the governments in Khartoum and N'Djamena, and cross-border attacks.

Meanwhile, the ambassador and Ali Mahmoud, the governor of South Darfur state, said the fighting in the troubled western province of the country was over, and that remaining insecurity was due to criminal elements.

"The only problem in Southern Darfur is robberies. These are (carried out by) criminals, the factions of previous rebel groups," insisted Mahmoud.

"In south Darfur, there is no fighting between army and rebel groups for one year," he said, adding that there were still "tribal conflicts."

There has been some sporadic fighting since the outgoing commander of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said in August he considered the war in the western province over.

Meanwhile, Ukec was quick to reject growing concerns in the international community that the north and south of Sudan could again become entangled in a civil war.

"The leaderships of north and south tell the people that we are not going back to war," the ambassador said, acknowledging that the two regions have been in combat for much of the country's modern history.

The decades of fighting left many issues unresolved, Ukec said, allowing for disputes over land and other basic resources to linger.

A 17-member official Sudanese delegation was visiting Switzerland, in a mission to learn about federalism.

"We are learning how the system works and whether it can help us in Sudan with out diversities as well," said Ukec.

Switzerland, with four language groups, religious divides and other difference between regions, has prided itself on its strong decentralized system of allocating much power to the cantons to ensure stability.

The Sudanese were also in Europe seeking help from the international community, for development and humanitarian assistance.

Commenting on a decision earlier this year by Khartoum to expel 13 non-governmental aid groups who were offering assistance, Ukec said "our national security is number one."

He claimed the NGOs were engaged in politics and were looking to cause divisions within Sudan.

The aid groups at the time objected to the expulsion, which was connected to a decision by the International Criminal Court to issue warrants for the country's leadership, including the president, in relation to events in Darfur. The groups were accused of working with the ICC.

"We still need help, but not help from an enemy who doesn't want Sudan to be stable," Ukec said about the aid workers.

Friday, June 10, 2005

Friedhelm Eronat and Cliveden Sudan named as buyer of Darfur oil rights

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Further to the previous post at this site Sudan Watch, here is a June 10, 2005 report from The Guardian by David Leigh and Adrian Gatton. Note, the UK's Channel 4 TV News in its special report last night, interviewed JEM rebel Ahmad Hussein Adam.

Full copy of news report from The Guardian.co.uk
Written by David Leigh and Adrian Gatton
Dated Friday 10 June 2005, 00.05 BST
Title 'Briton named as buyer of Darfur oil rights'

A millionaire British businessman, Friedhelm Eronat, was named last night as the purchaser of oil rights in the Darfur region of Sudan, where the regime is accused of war crimes and where millions of tribespeople are alleged to have been forced to flee, amid mass rapes or murders. 

The disclosure was greeted with outrage by human rights campaigners. "From a moral point of view these people are paying a government whose senior members may end up in front of the international criminal court for war crimes," Simon Taylor, director of Global Witness, said yesterday. 

A London representative of the Darfur rebels last night called for oil exploration to stop until there was a peace settlement. "The only beneficiaries are the ruling elite," Ahmad Hussein Adam told Channel 4 news. "This is going to support their military campaign against our people." 

Documents seen by the Guardian suggest that Mr Eronat, who lives in a GBP 20m house in Chelsea, swapped his US passport for a British one shortly before the deal was signed with the Sudan regime in October 2003. US citizens are barred from dealing with Sudan under sanctions dating from 1997. 

The disclosure that Britain is serving as a base for questionable African oil transactions comes in the run-up to the July G8 summit at Gleneagles, at which Tony Blair's central theme will be the need to help Africa. 

The documents show that Mr Eronat may have been acting for China, which has been prominent in the new "scramble for Africa" and its oil deposits. Two Chinese corporations were given an option to buy 50% of Mr Eronat's newly acquired stake in the Darfur field. The option expired last year. It is not known whether China took it up. Mr Eronat's lawyer said yesterday that he "has purchased no oil concessions in Sudan ... and Mr Eronat has no interest" in the oil concession. An initial $3m was paid to the Sudan regime for exploration rights, shared with the state oil company and some other Sudanese interests. 

Mr Eronat, who is reputed to be worth GBP 100m, has made a fortune out of oil deals, mainly through his offshore Cliveden Group. He was accused by Global Witness last year of being the owner of a Swiss company allegedly used as a conduit to pass millions of dollars from Mobil Oil to the president of Kazakhstan. A trial is pending in the US of a banker involved in those transactions. Mr Eronat was not charged with any offence. 

The Islamist regime in the largely Arab north of Sudan has become an international pariah because of long-running attempts to crush rebellions in the south and more recently in Darfur in the west. A peace agreement in the south included agreements to divide up oil revenues, but the deal provoked a second rebellion in the adjoining Darfur region, which began in spring 2003. The military regime's violent response is estimated to have caused more than 1.5 million people to flee. 

The international criminal court says it is considering bringing charges of war crimes and possible genocide against government officials in Sudan. Announcing a formal investigation into the murders, rapes and massacres that have taken place in recent years, a spokesman for the court said evidence was being gathered and a list of suspects would be drawn up. 

A UN commission of inquiry said there had been serious violations of human rights. The UN has forwarded a list of more than 50 suspects to the ICC. Mr Eronat's London lawyer, John Reynolds of McDermott Will & Emery, said yesterday: "Mr Eronat has purchased no oil concessions in Sudan." He said the oil exploration group had various shareholders, of which Cliveden Petroleum Sudan Ltd was only one. "Are you alleging that killing has taken place in [the] concession acreage?" he asked. 

The company documents seen by the Guardian show that at the time of the 2003 sale, Mr Eronat confirmed that he was the sole owner of Cliveden Sudan, registered offshore in the British Virgin Islands with bearer shares and no register of ownership. The documents state that Cliveden Sudan in turn bought the largest single share in the oil exploration concession from the Sudan regime on October 21 2003. 

The disclosure of Mr Eronat as the man behind the Darfur deal followed a dispute between him and the former chairman of one of his companies, the lawyer Peter Felter. Mr Felter said last night: "Eronat is not interested in Darfur or political issues. He's interested in making money."

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New bid to stop Darfur fighting 
BBC confirms June 10 peace talks between Khartoum regime and two Darfur rebel groups have resumed in Nigeria after a six-month break. Read Full Story.
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NATO to airlift AU troops into Darfur 
NATO defence ministers gave the green light on Thursday to an operation to airlift extra African troops to Darfur, the alliance's first mission on the continent. 

Photo: NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (L) listens to NATO's Supreme Allied Commander for Europe General James Jones on the second day of a NATO defence ministers meeting at NATO headquarters, Brussels, June 10, 2005. 

Source: Reuters/Francois Lenoir - Jun 10, 2005.