United Nations Special Envoy to Sudan to Step Down

UN Special Representative in Sudan Volker Perthes speaks during a news conference in Khartoum, Sudan January 10, 2022. (Reuters)
UN Special Representative in Sudan Volker Perthes speaks during a news conference in Khartoum, Sudan January 10, 2022. (Reuters)
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United Nations Special Envoy to Sudan to Step Down

UN Special Representative in Sudan Volker Perthes speaks during a news conference in Khartoum, Sudan January 10, 2022. (Reuters)
UN Special Representative in Sudan Volker Perthes speaks during a news conference in Khartoum, Sudan January 10, 2022. (Reuters)

The United Nations special envoy to Sudan is stepping down, more than three months after Sudan declared him unwelcome after disagreements between rival factions erupted into war.

"I am grateful to the Secretary-General for that opportunity and for his confidence in me, but I have asked him to relieve me of this duty," envoy Volker Perthes told the UN Security Council on Wednesday, 2 -1/2 years after taking the job.

Sudan's army (SAF) - led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan - and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began fighting each other in April, sparking a humanitarian crisis. More than one million people have since fled ethnic and sexual violence to neighboring countries.

"What started as a conflict between two military formations could be morphing into a full-blown civil war," Perthes warned on Wednesday.

Perthes told the 15-member Security Council that there was "little doubt who is responsible for what" in the conflict.

"Often indiscriminate aerial bombing is conducted by those who have an airforce, which is the SAF. Most of the sexual violence, lootings and killings happen in areas controlled by the RSF and are conducted or tolerated by the RSF and their allies," he said during his last council briefing.

He also said that both sides were arbitrarily arresting, detaining, and "even torturing civilians" and there were reports of extrajudicial killings.

The war in Sudan began four years after a popular uprising ousted President Omar al-Bashir. Tensions between the army and RSF, which jointly staged a coup in 2021, erupted into fighting over a plan to integrate their forces as part of a transition to civilian rule. While several countries have tried to mediate, none has succeeded in bringing a halt to the fighting.

Burhan had previously expressed his disapproval of Perthes, and before the outbreak of war supporters of Bashir had protested in front of Perthes' mission.

Sudan declared Perthes persona non grata in June. Perthes had been working from outside Sudan since then. The United Nations said at the time that UN personnel cannot be made persona non grata.



UN Rights Chief Arrives in Syria for First Ever Visit

Volker Turk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, attends a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 6, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
Volker Turk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, attends a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 6, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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UN Rights Chief Arrives in Syria for First Ever Visit

Volker Turk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, attends a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 6, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
Volker Turk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, attends a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 6, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk arrived in Syria's capital, Damascus, on Tuesday for the first ever visit of the global body's rights chief to the country.

Turk, an Austrian lawyer, will visit Syria and Lebanon from Jan. 14-16 and meet with officials, civil society groups, diplomats and UN bodies, the UN statement said, without giving further details.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was driven from power by a lightening opposition offensive last month, ending 50 years of family rule and raising hopes for accountability for crimes committed during Syria's more than 13 year civil war.

According to Reuters, under Assad, many UN officials and rights groups were denied access to the country to investigate alleged violations.

A spokesperson for Turk's office did not immediately provide further details of how many times he or his predecessors had tried to gain access to the country. The role of High Commissioner for Human Rights was created in 1993.