The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday approved a resolution that extended sanctions and an arms embargo against Sudan by a year, reported The TRT World.
The 15-member council voted to renew the mandate of the panel of experts charged with monitoring and implementing the sanctions and embargo until March 12 next year. The resolution said the council will make a decision regarding the further renewal of the sanctions no later than September 12, 2024.
Thirteen countries voted in favor of the resolution with Russia and China abstaining.
China’s representative to the UNSC, Dai Bing, said the sanctions were outdated and should be lifted because things have improved on the ground.
Russia’s Dmitry Polyanskiy said the sanctions regime did not reflect Darfur’s current situtaion and was preventing the Sudanese government from state-building and achieving socioeconomic development.
The United States representative John Kelley, on the other hand, said he endorsed a continuation of monitoring and reporting. He added that progress on benchmarks anchored in the Juba peace deal signed in 2020 would move Sudan and its people toward the peace and prosperity they deserve.
The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the Sudanese government in then led by Omar al Bashir, accusing it of discrimination and neglect. Up to 300,000 people died in the conflict and 2.7 million fled their homes.
Last month, Sudan appealed that the UNSC immediately lift all sanctions imposed during the Darfur conflict.
In a letter addressed to the Security Council, Sudan’s UN ambassador, Al-Harith Idriss Mohamed, said that “Darfur has, for the most part, overcome the state of war, as well as previous security and political challenges”.
The Sudanese government has repeatedly urged the council to lift sanctions.
Sudan has been in economic and political turmoil since the Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan-led junta overthrew and took over power from the civilian-led transitional government in 2021. The coup derailed the transition to civilian rule following al-Bashir’s 2019 ouster.
