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STORY: UN / SUDAN
TRT: 3:16
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /NATS
DATELINE: 9 MARCH 2021, NEW YORK CITY
FILE
1. Exterior shot, national flags in wind at UN Headquarters
9 MARCH 2021, NEW YORK CITY
2. Multiscreen, Security Council in virtual session
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Perthes, UN Special Representative for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan:
“Sudan is making significant advances in its transition. However, the remaining challenges are staggering. It's urgent to respond to the needs of communities across the country. UNITAMS with an integrated country team is committed to working closely with all components of the transitional authorities and other stakeholders in the country to address these challenges and help realize the aspirations of the Sudanese people.”
4. Multiscreen, Security Council in virtual session
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Perthes, UN Special Representative for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan:
“We cannot ignore that economic hardships are posing real risk to Sudan stability. Inflation stands at above 300 percent in January. Sudan also suffers from large trade and financial fiscal deficits, high unemployment and poverty. 13. 4 million people, 13.4 million people that's a quarter of the country's population are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 2.5 million internally displaced.”
6. Multiscreen, Security Council in virtual session
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Perthes, UN Special Representative for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan:
“The increasingly complex geopolitical environment, however, is another challenge for Sudan, notably the tensions along the border with Ethiopia intermittent clashes and heated rhetoric, as well as reports of an intensification of military operations on the border, in the border region are deeply concerned. There is a serious risk of miscalculation and escalation. And it's imperative that the international community build on Sudan's and Ethiopia’s stated commitment for a diplomatic solution. And that we support de-escalation and a peaceful resolution of this conflict.”
8. Multiscreen, Security Council in virtual session
9. SOUNDBITE (Englishh) Atul Khare, UN Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support:
“I wish to commend the efforts of the government of Sudan on its transitional path for resuming the responsibility for protection of civilians in line with its national plan for civilian protections. In particular, I applaud the high level of coordination between the joint task force and UNAMID to facilitate the drawdown process, the commitment from the government on civilian end-use of sites handed over, the security arrangements to ensure safe and dignified exit of UNAMID and facilitation of administrative processes it required.” T
10. Multiscreen, Security Council in virtual session
11. SOUNDBITE (Englishh) Atul Khare, UN Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support:
“The Mission is on track in meeting the request of the Council to complete the withdrawal of all uniformed and civilian personnel by 20 June 2021, other than those required for the Mission liquidation. Three of the 18 contingents not being considered for a guard unit had been repatriated. An accelerated drawdown schedule will ensure the departure of all uniformed personnel by end of May, allowing June a buffer for any unexpected contingencies and also avoiding the onset of the rainy season.”
12. Multiscreen, Security Council in virtual session
Sudan is making “significant advances in its transition” despite “staggering” challenges, the top UN official in Sudan told the UN Security Council, urging for a response to “the needs of communities across the country.”
Briefing the Council on the situation in Sudan on Tuesday (9 Mar), Volker Perthes, the UN Special Representative for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNTAMS) said “UNITAMS with an integrated country team is committed to working closely with all components of the transitional authorities and other stakeholders in the country to address these challenges and help realize the aspirations of the Sudanese people.”
Perthes, who was appointed on 7 January and is in Sudan since the beginning of February, acknowledged the country’s progress in political transition and on economic reforms.
However, he warned that “economic hardships are posing real risk to Sudan stability.”
“Inflation stands at above 300 percent in January,” he said. “Sudan also suffers from large trade and financial fiscal deficits, high unemployment and poverty. 13. 4 million people, 13.4 million people that's a quarter of the country's population are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 2.5 million internally displaced.”
The ongoing transition to democracy began following months of street protests which led to the overthrow of longstanding leader, President Omar Al-Bashir, in April 2019.
Last October, Sudanese authorities and several armed groups from Darfur signed an historic peace agreement to end decades of conflict. A new cabinet, announced in February, is built on power-sharing between civilians, the military and armed movements.
Another challenge for Sudan is “the increasingly complex geopolitical environment,” Perthes said, “notably the tensions along the border with Ethiopia.”
“Intermittent clashes and heated rhetoric, as well as reports of an intensification of military operations on the border, in the border region are deeply concerned,” he said adding in “there is a serious risk of miscalculation and escalation.”
The Special Representative also said “it's imperative that the international community build on Sudan's and Ethiopia’s stated commitment for a diplomatic solution. And that we support de-escalation and a peaceful resolution of this conflict.”
UNITAMS follows on from a joint UN-African Union operation in the country, that protected hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by the brutal fighting in Darfur.
That mission, known as UNAMID, ended in December, and complete withdrawal of all personnel is on track to meet a deadline of 30 June. A skeleton team will stay on for the liquidation, which is estimated to take up to 12 to 18 months. A police guard unit will also remain, though Sudan has primary responsibility for protecting UN premises during this period.
Atul Khare, UN Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support, said the already complex task of closing 15 bases and repatriating more than 7,000 peacekeepers and civilians is on track.
“The Mission is on track in meeting the request of the Council to complete the withdrawal of all uniformed and civilian personnel by 20 June 2021, other than those required for the Mission liquidation,” Khare said.
