Unifeed

UN / SUDAN

The head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, Volker Perthes, said that on Monday, the military leadership and a broad range of civilian actors signed up to a political framework agreement to lay the ground for a final political accord and the formation of a new civilian government, leading the country towards recovery and democratic elections. UNIFEED
d2991348
Video Length
00:04:04
Production Date
Asset Language
Personal Subject
Geographic Subject
MAMS Id
2991348
Parent Id
2991348
Alternate Title
unifeed221207a
Description

STORY: UN / SUDAN
TRT: 4:04
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS

DATELINE: 7 DECEMBER 2022, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

View moreView less
Shotlist

RECENT – NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, UN headquarters exterior

7 DECEMBER 2022, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Perthes, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS):
“Last Monday, 5 December, the military leadership and a broad range of civilian actors signed up to a political framework agreement. It is supposed to lay the ground, after a further round of talks on substance, for a final political accord and the formation of a new civilian government leading the country towards recovery, democratic elections - and this over a two-year transition phase.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Perthes, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS):
“Across Sudan, more than 260,000 people have been displaced due to conflict since the beginning of the year. These are man-made, human-made catastrophes often caused the disputes over access to resources and seemingly exacerbated by political manipulation in more than a few cases. And all this is compounding natural disasters and growing humanitarian needs.”
6. Med shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Perthes, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS):
“Humanitarian partners estimate that about 15.8 million people - that's a third of the population - will need humanitarian assistance in 2023. This is an increase of 1.5 million compared to 2022, the biggest in a decade. This year, in 2022, the number of flood-affected people surpassed that of last year and reached 349,000 across the country.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9 SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Perthes, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS):
“The human rights situation remains concerning. Protests against military rule have continued and have largely remained peaceful. More often than not, security forces have acted, however, or reacted with excessive use of force. In the latest incident, on 24 November, two protestors were killed in Omdurman. This brought the total death toll among protesters, mainly in the capital, to 121 since the coup. Also, more than 8,000 have been injured.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Perthes, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS):
“While progress on the political track is encouraging, it can still be derailed by challenges and spoilers. As Sudan gets closer to reaching a final political agreement, those who don't see their interest advanced by political settlement may escalate attempts to undermine the process. A sufficiently inclusive process can help safeguard against their influence.”
12. Wide shot, Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Perthes, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS):
“Let me once again commend those Sudanese who have taken the courageous step of agreeing on and signing up to the political framework agreement two days ago. This has been a truly Sudanese-owned and Sudanese-led process. The framework agreement now offers a path to realize the aspirations of Sudan’s youth, women, and men.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Sudan:
“There is greater optimism in arriving at an agreement with Sudan for a democratic transition that protects the gains for the Sudanese people, namely freedom, peace, and justice. These are the values and the slogans that the young Sudanese people have cried out for, and so this optimism has prevailed since the signing of the framework agreement last Monday.”
16. Wide shot, Security Council

View moreView less
Storyline

The head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes, said that on Monday (5 Dec), the military leadership and a broad range of civilian actors signed up to a political framework agreement to lay the ground for a final political accord and the formation of a new civilian government, leading the country towards recovery and democratic elections.

Addressing the Security Council today (7 Dec) on the situation in Sudan, Perthes commended “those Sudanese who have taken the courageous step of agreeing on and signing up to the political framework agreement two days ago. This has been a truly Sudanese-owned and Sudanese-led process. The framework agreement now offers a path to realize the aspirations of Sudan’s youth, women, and men.”

He also noted that while the “progress on the political track is encouraging, it can still be derailed by challenges and spoilers.”

He explained, “As Sudan gets closer to reaching a final political agreement, those who don't see their interest advanced by political settlement may escalate attempts to undermine the process. A sufficiently inclusive process can help safeguard against their influence.”

According to the UNITAMS Chief, concerted advocacy from the international community is also needed to encourage constructive positions from those who are not, or do not want to be, part of the process or do not want to be part of the process yet.

Also briefing the Security Council, Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed, Permanent Representative of Sudan to the United Nations, said, “There is greater optimism in arriving at an agreement with Sudan for a democratic transition that protects the gains for the Sudanese people, namely freedom, peace, and justice. These are the values and the slogans that the young Sudanese people have cried out for, and so this optimism has prevailed since the signing of the framework agreement last Monday.”

Talking about the challenges of the past 13 months, Perthes said that the coup and the subsequent political impasse plunged the country into a state of uncertainty and insecurity.

Tensions escalated into violence in areas that previously had experienced calm.

Since the beginning of this year, more than 900 people were reportedly killed and many more injured in violent conflict.

In the past month, significant clashes occurred in the Blue Nile, West Kordofan, and Central Darfur.

Perthes said that the resurgence of large-scale violence demonstrates the increasing fragility at the state level, exacerbated by the continued government vacuum.

He also said that local authorities lack the capacity and resources to protect civilians, where the root causes and fundamental grievances have yet to be addressed.

Across Sudan, more than 260,000 people have been displaced due to conflict since the beginning of the year.

“These are man-made, human-made catastrophes often caused the disputes over access to resources and seemingly exacerbated by political manipulation in more than a few cases. And all this is compounding natural disasters and growing humanitarian needs,” Perthes said.

Humanitarian partners estimate that about 15.8 million people – i.e., a third of the population – will need humanitarian assistance in 2023. This is an increase of 1.5 million compared to 2022, the biggest in a decade.

This year, in 2022, the number of flood-affected people surpassed that of last year and reached 349,000 across the country.

High inflation continues to reduce households’ purchasing power, with people unable to meet their basic needs.

While the UN and partner organizations reached 9.1 million people in need from January to September, the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan is only funded at 41.3 percent.

On the human rights situation, which remains “concerning,” Perthes said that protests against military rule have continued and have largely remained peaceful.

“More often than not, security forces have acted, however, or reacted with excessive use of force,” he added.

He continued, “In the latest incident, on 24 November, two protestors were killed in Omdurman. This brought the total death toll among protesters, mainly in the capital, to 121 since the coup. Also, more than 8,000 have been injured.”

View moreView less

Download

There is no media available to download.

Request footage