At the request of the Sudanese authorities, the Security Council on Friday ended the UN political mission (UNAMIS) in the African country ravaged for more than seven months by a deadly war between two rival generals.
Taking note of the letter from Khartoum calling for the departure of the United Nations integrated mission to assist the transition in Sudan, the resolution adopted by 14 votes in favor and one abstention (Russia) “decides to put an end to the mandate of the UNAMIS […] from December 3, 2023”, with a transition period until February 29 for the transfer of its activities.
A decision that several members of the Council did not take with joy, while UNAMIS was documenting in particular the human rights violations which have multiplied since the start of the war.
“Let me be clear, the UK would not have chosen to close UNAMIS now,” said Deputy British Ambassador James Kariuki, whose country drafted the text.
“We are very concerned about the risk that a reduced international presence in Sudan will only encourage the perpetrators of atrocities, with terrible consequences for civilians,” added his American counterpart Robert Wood.
In its resolution, the Council, calling for an end to hostilities, also said it was “alarmed” by the continuation of violence, the humanitarian situation and “serious violations of human rights”.
This decision by the Council “is the culmination of the catastrophic abdication of responsibility towards civilians at a time when the risks of atrocities and large-scale human rights violations are greater than ever”, denounced Louis in a press release. Charbonneau, of the NGO Human Rights Watch.
UNAMIS was set up in 2020 to support the democratic transition in Sudan after the fall of Omar al-Bashir the previous year under pressure from the army and the street.
But in October 2021, the difficult transition to civilian rule was cut short, with a coup d’état led by the head of the army, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane.
And on April 15, before the signing of an agreement supposed to relaunch the democratic transition was recorded, fighting broke out between General Burhane and his number two, General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, at the head of the paramilitary Forces of rapid support (FSR).
“Sacrifice” the people
A few weeks later, the head of the army called for the dismissal of the head of UNAMIS, the German Volker Perthes, making him responsible for this war.
The diplomat, banned from returning to Sudan, finally resigned last September.
Driving the point home by estimating that UNAMIS “no longer responds to the priority needs” of Sudan, Khartoum demanded its immediate end in mid-November, leaving no choice to the Security Council, the UN missions having to operate with the consent of the host country.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres this week strongly rejected the accusations against the organization, pointing the finger at “two generals who totally disregard the interests of their people.”
“It’s time to call a spade a spade.” It is the fault of those who sacrificed the interests of their people for a simple struggle for power and of those who support them,” he added, referring to “financial and arms” support from other actors. whom he did not name.
The forced departure of the political mission in Sudan is a new setback for the UN which is facing a certain hostility in Africa particularly regarding its effectiveness on the political and security level.
Thus, under pressure from the Malian junta, the Security Council put an end in June to the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA), from which the Blue Helmets must have left by the end of the month.
Despite the departure of UNAMIS, which had some 250 employees at the end of October, “the United Nations is not leaving Sudan”, insisted this week, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, assuring that the organization would continue its efforts humanitarian and political.
With this in mind, Antonio Guterres appointed the Algerian Ramtane Lamamra as his “personal representative” for Sudan.
The conflict that broke out on April 15 left more than 10,000 dead according to an estimate from the NGO Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), considered largely underestimated.
It has also displaced more than six million people, according to the UN, and destroyed most infrastructure.