What's In Blue

Posted Thu 23 Jun 2011

Insights on Sudan

The situation in Sudan continues to occupy the Council. On Monday, 20 June, the Council were briefed by Thabo Mbeki, Chairperson of the AU High Level Implementation Panel and Haile Menkerios, head of UNMIS, via video link from Addis Ababa on the agreement signed by north and south Sudan to pull their troops out of Abyei and to allow an interim force of Ethiopian peacekeepers to take over. The situation in Southern Kordofan was also brought up. Representatives from Sudan and south Sudan and the 15 Council members all spoke following the briefing.

Yesterday, Wednesday, 22 June, Council members had an interactive dialogue with Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud, and Burkino-Faso’s Foreign Minister, Djibril Bassolé, who had until recently been the AU-UN Mediator for Darfur. Council members were briefed on the outcomes of the All Darfur Stakeholders Conference and the next steps to be taken by the mediation. It is understood that all Council members received a copy of the Doha Draft Document on Darfur Peace endorsed by the Darfur Stakeholders Conference yesterday. A copy had been given to the Secretary-General on Monday, 20 June.

It appears the Council may agree on press elements on Darfur and the Darfur Stakeholders Conference to be read out by the Council president later today. The press elements, circulated by the UK, are currently under “silence” procedure. The press elements seem likely to welcome the outcome of the Darfur Stakeholders Conference and thank the mediators.

It seems that Council members at expert level are also discussing a presidential statement welcoming the Abyei agreement and expressing concern at the ongoing situation in Southern Kordofan. It appears that although there is consensus that the Council should express its concern over violence in Southern Kordofan there are differences over the nature of detail that the Council should include in its statement with respect to actions from each side of the conflict. It is still possible that this presidential statement could be adopted later today.

Council members also seem to be expecting to receive a draft on the mandate for the Abyei interim Ethiopian security force from the US delegation today. The negotiations on this resolution are expected to take some time given the complexity of the situation in Abyei and the implications for future relations between Sudan and South Sudan. Council members seem to be wary of the interim security arrangements agreed to by the parties creating an environment on the ground that lock in future political agreements on the final status of Abyei.

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