UNITAMS Urges Partners to Continue Supporting Sudan

Head of the United Nations Integrated Transitional Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes, encouraged all the international and local partners of the Arab-African country to maintain their support in parallel with the current ongoing economic and political reforms.

He also said that he urged the leader of the Sudan Liberation Army in Darfur, Abdulwahid al-Nur, to “engage politically with the Government of Sudan for a comprehensive peace.”

In a briefing to the members of the Security Council on Thursday, Perthes said: “I have met with Abdul Aziz al-Hilu, with the Government and with the South Sudanese mediation team, to discuss preparations for the upcoming talks. UNITAMS will act as a facilitator here, supporting the role of South Sudan as a mediator as well as the parties where required. We are also working to ensure meaningful participation of women in the process and the talks.”

He added: “In Juba, I also met and discussed with SLA leader Abdulwahid al-Nur, the leader of one of the other main non-signatory factions and I discussed with him the need to engage politically with the Government of Sudan for a comprehensive peace.”

According to the UN official, moving from the current fragile transitional period towards stable civilian rule required the continuation of the “spirit of unity, partnership and collaboration.”

He stressed that after consultations about the country’s future, “one of the key messages remain that we expect all parts of Sudan to work together for all of Sudan.”

The UNITAMS chief said he was “deeply disturbed by continued reports of human rights violations against women and girls including social media campaigns instigating violence.”

“Women’s rights activists point to the fact that such crimes were unacceptable during the revolution and should be unacceptable today. I cannot agree more,” he underlined.

Perthes briefed the members of the Security Council on the results of the Paris conference to support the transition process and encourage economic recovery in Sudan, noting that some member states announced bilateral debt forgiveness to help the country to clear its arrears with the international financial institutions.

In this regard, he encouraged “all of Sudan’s international and local partners to continue to supporting Sudan as it undertakes major economic and political reforms.”

Perthes pointed to the Sudanese government’s continued efforts to advance the political transition, which include the adoption of the legislation establishing the Peace Commission, the Anti-corruption Commission, and the Transitional Justice Commission and others.

“Indeed, all of these are all important steps. I urge the authorities to proceed rapidly in operationalizing these entities while ensuring that they reflect the diversity of Sudan,” he underlined.