Statement delivered by H.E. Amar Bendjama, Permanent Representative of Algeria to the UN, on behalf of the A3+, at Security Council Briefing on the Situation in Sudan

Thank You Mr. President,
I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the A3+, namely, Guyana, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and my own country, Algeria.

At the outset, we wish  to thank the United Kingdom for convening this important meeting and express appreciation to USG Rosemary DiCarlo and OCHA Director Mr. Rajasingham for their briefings. We listened carefully to Mrs. Niemat Ahmadi and thank her for her briefing, and we welcome the participation of the Permanent Representative of Sudan to this meeting.

Mr. President,
As we speak, the situation in Sudan is in continued deterioration. It is marked by catastrophic humanitarian consequences on innocent civilians. Innocent civilians who are paying the heavy toll of this deadly conflict. Each day, women, girls and children are targeted by unspeakable atrocities, and the recent incidents in Al Jazirah State are yet another dark episode.

Yet, despite the worrying situation on the ground, the international community has not been able to make any breakthrough in peace efforts, in spite of our multiple calls and decisions. Notwithstanding, we remain hopeful that the planned initiatives and meetings by the UN Secretary General Personal Envoy and the African Union, building on the Jeddah process, will bear fruits. In the interim, the protection of civilians must remain our priority and, in this regard, we wish to underline the following points.

First, We call on the parties to agree, without further delay, on a ceasefire to lay the foundation for a meaningful political process and guarantee the protection of civilians in Sudan. Achieving a ceasefire, be it local or national, demands that parties show strong political will. Such willingness could be nurtured through small steps and confidence-building initiatives. Thus, convening a second round of the proximity talks that took place in July in Geneva could be a useful framework to build confidence between the parties.

Second point, it is essential to put all chances of success on the side of peace efforts, taking into account the dynamics and the realities on the ground. Any endeavor by this Council to support the protection of civilians by will have to preserve the validity of ongoing peace efforts and the momentum they could create to bring the parties to the negotiating table. The steps forward in this regard will have to be undertaken with wisdom and in coordination with the ongoing processes.

Third, protecting civilians in the current circumstances requires improving the humanitarian situation. While we welcome the recent measures taken by the Government of Sudan, particularly the decision, in consultations with other Sudanese actors, to allow humanitarian air operations in South Kordofan, we underline the importance of sustaining these measures to ensure that international assistance could reach all affected populations.

We call on the international community to continue scaling up its support to the humanitarian response plan and the efforts of the Sudanese Government to respond to the appalling situation on the ground.

The national facilities with a barely functional health system are facing significant challenges including cholera and dengue fever outbreaks as well as rising numbers of displaced persons, particularly following the last assaults by the Rapid Support Forces in Al Jazirah State.

Fourth, we must insist on accountability to respond more effectively to the violations of International Law and International Humanitarian Law. In this connection, we call on the RSF to halt their offensive against El Fasher and Al Jazirah State and to the respect of IHL and the principles of Human rights. The non-observance of any code of conduct by these forces is, in this regard, a source of deep concern.

We seize this occasion to call again on external actors to abstain from fueling the conflict and respect international law. The persistent foreign interferences in the Sudanese conflict could be one of the main factors of the failure of all peace efforts.

Mr. President,
To conclude, it is imperative that we lend our support to all peace initiatives driven by good faith and international law at the regional and international levels. The coordination of these efforts must remain our common objective, while preserving the central role of the United Nations  and the African Union, and we call again on the Sudanese parties to put the interest of their nation above all other considerations.

Thank You.