Briefing on Sudan
The briefing on Sudan by peacekeeping head, Alain le Roy, to the Council originally scheduled for Friday (10 June) was moved from Friday to today (Monday, 13 June). Council members decided to wait so that the briefing could include a readout from the Sunday, 12 June meeting in Addis Adaba between north Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, south Sudan’s president Salva Kiir, Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi and former South African president, Thobo Mbeki, with UN Special Envoy, Haile Menkerios present. It seems Council members were hopin gfor a positive outcome, before discussing Sudan again. (The presidential statement adopted by the Council on 3 June had agreed to a review in the “coming days”.)
The discussions on Sunday in Addis Adaba focused on the violence in Abyei, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states, as well as other outstanding security issues under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
The briefing this afternoon (13 June) is expected to provide Council members with more information on the outcome of the talks. Media reports indicate that there may have been agreement on a deal for Ethiopian peacekeepers in Abiye some form of UN auspices. It is still unclear what this means in a practical sense for the UN.
Council members may also make some procedural decisions about future work on Sudan at today’s meeting.
