The Sudanese government expressed hope Sunday that a UN peacekeeping mission to be deployed in the country under Chapter VI of the UN charter, will not include any military members.
“The program of assistance that Sudan requested from the UN should not include any military or police personnel. Safeguarding security and maintaining peace remains the core responsibility of the Sudanese government,” Minister of Foreign Affairs, Omar Gamareldin stressed on Sunday.
Earlier this year, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok sent a letter to the UN requesting support during the transitional period through a new peace-building mission.
His request came as the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) was set to expire in March.
The Security Council is expected to decide by May 31 on both a responsible drawdown and exit of UNAMID, and the establishment of a follow-on UN presence in Sudan. It should also clarify whether this proposed UN peace mission would be established under Chapter VI or Chapter VII.
Sudan’s Foreign Ministry announced Sunday that it has received, through the permanent mission of Sudan in New York, a draft of the Security Council resolution on the exit of UNAMID and the mechanism that would succeed it, indicating that it referred the text to each of the Transitional Sovereign Council and the cabinet.
Foreign Minister Asma Mohamed Abdulla called for an urgent meeting of the ministry’s officials to discuss the draft and the extent of its response and compliance with the eight demands mentioned in Sudan’s letter to the UN Secretary General, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and the Security Council President.
The ministry stated that, after reviewing the text, the conferees decided to send a series of proposals to Sudan’s embassy at the UN to immediately start introducing the necessary amendments to the draft, adding that the mission has engaged in extensive contacts with Security Council member states to make the changes.
The ministry affirmed that it would continue to follow up the Security Council consultations for approving a resolution that meets the eight demands included in Sudan's letter.
