Sudan rejects... Washington and Beijing support UNITAMS
Moatinoon
The Sudan officially renewed its request for the termination of UNMIS. The representative of the Sudan to the United Nations, briefing the United Nations Security Council yesterday, said that the mission had failed to fulfil its obligations to the Sudan in accordance with the terms of the mandate and had ignored the remarks of its official officials about the negative performance that had characterized the Missions activity from the outset.
Yesterday, the Assistant Secretary-General for African Affairs, Martha Ama Akia Bobi, briefed the Council on the Secretary-Generals report on the situation in the Sudan and the activities of the United Nations Integrated Assistance Mission in Transition (UNITA).
During the meeting, the Assistant Secretary-General announced that the Secretary-General had initiated a strategic review of UNITAMS with a view to providing the Security Council with options on how to better adapt the Missions mandate to the current context.
The audit would help to ensure that the Missions objectives and priorities adequately reflected the needs of the Sudanese people and supported the Sudan on its way to peace, stability and the restoration of civilian transition.
Earlier this year, the Security Council renewed the Missions mandate until the end of next December.
China, for its part, said it supported Guterres work and hoped that the review would reflect the views of the Sudanese authorities and regional organizations. The review should lead to cooperation between the United Nations and the Sudan and avoid imposing solutions from outside.
Addressing the Security Council briefing yesterday, Dae Peng, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, said, "The restoration of peace and stability in the Sudan is the common aspiration of the Sudanese people and the international community as a whole. China sincerely hopes that the two parties will place the interests of their country and people first, achieve an immediate ceasefire, restore natural order and work together to protect their countrys sovereignty and territorial integrity. "
At the same time, Washington announced its support for the efforts of UNITA and called on all members of the Security Council to continue to stand behind it.
The representative of the United States of America, Ambassador Linda Thomas, told the Security Council briefing yesterday that UNMIS was working to support the end of the conflict in the Sudan and the protection of human rights and facilitate the resumption of the political settlement process.
Earlier this year, the Security Council renewed the Missions mandate until the end of next December.
