Council Briefing on Sudan and South Sudan
Council members will be briefed in consultations this afternoon (10 November) by Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Haile Menkerios, on north-south negotiations. It seems that he will particularly focus on issues related to the unresolved Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) including border demarcation, wealth sharing and the status of Abyei. Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, will brief on discussions with key officials during his recent trip to Sudan and South Sudan. The head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Hilde Johnson, will also be available through video-link to answer Council members’ questions.
It appears that some Council members have been interested in a more comprehensive briefing covering both Sudan and South Sudan as they would like the Council to take a more holistic view of the inter-connected challenges facing both countries. However, others seem to prefer for the Council to continue to address the issues separately. It seems that some Council members are particularly concerned about the security and humanitarian situation in border regions, particularly in Blue Nile and South Kordofan.
On Friday (4 November) Council members released a press statement on Abyei (SC/10436) which requested the redeployment of Sudanese and South Sudanese forces from the Abyei area. It also expressed Council members’ readiness to consider additional mandated tasks for UNISFA in support of the 30 July Agreement on the Border Monitoring Support Mission between the Government of Sudan and the Government of South Sudan (S/2001/510) and touched on the importance of all parties to resolve peacefully all outstanding CPA issues
Council members will also be discussing Sudan this afternoon during a regular meeting of the Sudan sanctions committee. Later this month the Council is expected to consider the recent report on UNMISS which was released on Tuesday (8 November).
