Checked Against Delivery
Thank you, Madam President.
I also thank USG DiCarlo for her briefing.
Madam President.
This is the last mandated briefing on Sudan this year. However, it must not mark the end of the Council’s attention and engagement on Sudan. Indeed, by every measure, this conflict continues to worsen, and must remain high on our agenda.
The central facts are well known. Across Sudan, civilians continue to be killed, displaced, starved and subjected to sexual violence while there is a chronic impunity for those committing these atrocities. External support continues to sustain the parties’ military capabilities and belief in military victory.
We must therefore be clear. Civilians cannot be made to pay with their lives while political solutions are waiting.
As a Council, we must pursue both objectives with equal urgency.
This includes support for confidence building measures, including Personal Envoy Haavisto’s engagement on de-escalation, education and detained civilians, and EU Special Representative Weber’s work with the parties to protect civilian critical infrastructure. Such measures do not need to be conditional on a comprehensive settlement.
In parallel, efforts to reach a political settlement must continue. Denmark strongly supports the Quintet’s work towards an inclusive, Sudanese-led and owned political dialogue. We also support urgent efforts by the United States to secure a humanitarian truce leading to a permanent ceasefire, and we encourage continued coordination between the Quintet and Quad.
Madam President,
As mentioned by USG DiCarlo, we approach the first anniversary of the atrocities in El Fasher committed by the RSF, and we recall the Fact-Finding Mission’s findings of a genocidal campaign. The obligation is not only to remember, but to prosecute those responsible and to prevent repetition.
We are horrified by reports that a drone strike near a displacement site in Wad Al Mahi in Blue Nile State, killed at least 31 civilians, mostly women and children.
Frontlines shifting back and forth, and as we have seen in the Kordofans, bring reprisals and insecurity for civilians amid a widening drone war. This must stop.
Madam President, turning to the humanitarian situation.
We are deeply concerned by the recent IPC Alert which paints a stark picture of catastrophic food insecurity in Darfur and Kordofan.
While we welcome the extension of humanitarian access through the Adre border crossing, this must be sustained and complemented by predictable permissions, safe movement and access. The recent attack on two WFP trucks demonstrates just how dangerous it is to deliver aid in Sudan. We strongly condemn this and all other such attacks and call for an immediate investigation.
Madam President,
We urge Council members to discharge the 1591 Committee’s mandate fully, including through publishing the Panel of Experts’ final report without delay.
Denmark also supports efforts to strengthen the sanctions regime to reflect the severity and geographic scope of the conflict. This includes action against those responsible for atrocities and those enabling the war. The very same logic applies to the mandate of the International Criminal Court, which the Council should extend to cover the entire country.
For the UN, the conflict in Sudan requires a system-wide response.
One that benefits from the full weight of the Secretary-General’s good offices. One that connects mediation, humanitarian operations, human rights monitoring, accountability and civilian protection. One that is firmly backed by this Council and coordinated with and supported by regional efforts.
In closing,
Two years ago, this Council received recommendations from the Secretary-General on the protection of civilians in Sudan. These remain relevant today as the need for protection has become so much more pressing.
Denmark calls on the Council to urgently revisit these recommendations and examine how we can take them forward and build on them.
Sudanese civilians do not need another statement or commemoration after the next atrocity. They need action now to prevent it.
Thank you.
