Sudan: Security Council urges parties to peace pact to resolve outstanding issues

The Security Council today urged both parties to the agreement that ended the war between northern and southern Sudan to iron out outstanding issues before Southern Sudan becomes a separate country in July, and encouraged then to enter dialogue with the United Nations on the future of its presence there.

“Noting that the conclusion of the CPA [Comprehensive Peace Agreement] Interim Period on July 9 is soon approaching, the Council urges the parties, meeting at the highest level, as necessary, to reach agreement on outstanding CPA issues and post-CPA arrangements,” the Council said in a presidential statement.

In a briefing to the Council yesterday, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Atul Khare, said key elements of the CPA, which was signed in 2005, may not be resolved before the south formally separates from the rest of the country in early July. He warned that disputes over the sticking points threaten to pull the parties back into open conflict.

In the presidential statement, the Council stressed its concern over increased tensions, violence, and displacement in the Abyei area and urged both the Government of Sudan and the Government of Southern Sudan to implement and stick to recent security agreements by withdrawing from the territory all forces other than the Joint Integrated Units and Joint Integrated Police Units allowed under those pacts.

The Council welcomed the start of the popular consultation process in Blue Nile State and the rescheduled gubernatorial and state assembly elections in Southern Kordofan, now slated to take place from 2 to 4 May. It expressed concern over recent violence in Southern Kordofan, stressing that both parties have the responsibility to avoid inflammatory rhetoric and to ensure peaceful and credible elections.

It voiced concern over recent violence between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in the south and local militias, specifically in Jonglei, Upper Nile, and Unity states and urged leaders to find peaceful solutions to the clashes.

“The Council underlines the need for the CPA parties to promote calm, including by providing immediate and ongoing reassurance to people of all nationalities in Sudan, including southerners in the north and northerners in the south, that their rights, safety and property will be respected,” said the statement.

It reiterated “in the strongest terms” that any obstruction to freedom of movement of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) is unacceptable and that UNMIS requires full and unfettered access throughout the mission area.

On Darfur, the Security Council stressed its deep concern over escalating violence and insecurity, as wells as restrictions on access to vulnerable populations throughout Darfur by the joint African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and the humanitarian community.

The Council expressed its condolences to the family of the peacekeeper killed on 5 April and urged UNAMID and the Sudanese Government to conduct a thorough investigation.

“The Council demands that the Government of Sudan and the armed movements cease hostilities and ensure full and unhindered access, by land and by air, for UNAMID throughout the mission area and allow humanitarian workers to provide assistance to all populations in need.”

It also said that the envisaged Darfur-based Political Process (DPP) has a potential complementary role in existing Qatar-led efforts to bring peace to Darfur, but noted with concern that important aspects of the enabling environment necessary for the DPP do not currently exist.