S/PV.5832
5832nd meeting
Friday, 8 February 2008, 10 a.m.
New York
Reports of the Secretary-General on the Sudan
Mr. Ettalhi (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (spoke in Arabic): At the outset, allow me to echo the thanks that have been offered to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his efforts to resolve the situation in Darfur and to promote peace and security both in the province and in Africa as a whole. We should also like to welcome Mr. Jan Eliasson and thank him for his very useful briefing to the Security Council. We commend his endeavours carried out together with Mr. Salim Ahmed Salim, the African Union envoy. We reiterate our support for the Secretariat’s decision to extend Mr. Eliasson’s mandate. We would also like to thank Mr. Guéhenno for his briefing. I welcome the Permanent Observer of the African Union and thank her for her statement.
Mr. Eliasson’s briefing reflects the efforts he has made in recent months, together with his colleague, to persuade all parties to sit down at the negotiating table, to unify the movements and coordinate their positions, and to relaunch the negotiations that began in Sirte, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, in October 2007. We believe that that mission should be commended, as it clearly reflects the difficulties that remain to be overcome, chief among which is the absence of some factions from the peace process.
Regarding the crisis in Darfur, we must emphasize the fact that peace cannot be achieved unless a comprehensive peace process is launched and the conditions are established to make the process a reality. My delegation would stress certain aspects of the issue.
First, we welcome the approach adopted by the two Special Envoys with respect to consulting with the various parties to unify the movements and coordinate their positions with a view to preparing objective consultations in Sirt. We are aware of the mission’s complexity, as Mr. Eliasson emphasized, but our efforts must be maintained and contacts pursued in that regard.
Secondly, if the political process is to be successful, all participants must cease hostilities forthwith and take part in the peace negotiations without prior conditions, thereby preventing their positions from being linked to the speed of deployment and the size of the force in Darfur. That is a most important consideration.
Thirdly, we are deeply concerned by the stance of certain groups that continue to refuse to participate in the political process and to snub their noses at the negotiation efforts. We reiterate the importance to some parties, including this Council, for appropriate pressure to be brought to bear on those groups to reconsider their position and decide to join the political process, thereby demonstrating their good intentions without preconditions. The Council must adopt the necessary measures regarding those groups.
Fourthly, Libya is closely following current developments in Darfur, with which it shares a border, and hopes to provide every possibly assistance to achieving peace and security in the province. Libya has a great interest in accelerating the political process and will continue to lend its support to the two mediators and to play an effective role, particularly in extending its good offices. We appeal once again to the rebels to join the political process and commit to meeting objective criteria, including a ceasefire, and to facilitating humanitarian work.
With respect to the deployment of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), I commend the efforts of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Government of the Sudan to address the technical aspects of deployment. We also welcome the positive consensual attitude that prevailed at the meeting between President Bashir and the Secretary-General on the margins of the recent African Union summit in Addis Ababa, as well as the ensuing progress, which reflects other advances achieved, in particular the negotiation of the status-of-forces agreement. We hope that the agreement will be signed tomorrow. Indeed, the Secretary-General raised that issue in his most recent statement, in which he expressed his satisfaction with the cooperation extended by the Sudanese authorities in facilitating the deployment of the Hybrid Operation. We hope that this course can be pursued in order to strengthen confidence and alleviate tensions with the Government of the Sudan. We are convinced that the Sudanese Government is doing its utmost to facilitate the deployment of the Hybrid Operation and to promote the political process.
For our part, we remain concerned by the international community’s inability to establish the conditions in which UNAMID can be deployed, particularly with respect to land and air assets. In that regard, we thank those States that are in a position to respond to that matter and that have contributed to the Hybrid Operation. It is indeed extremely important to emphasize the African contribution to control and command within the Operation, pursuant to Security Council resolution 1769 (2007) and other consequent relevant decisions.
We are concerned by the violence that has erupted in Chad, claiming many innocent lives. We express our apprehension concerning the current tensions and reciprocal accusations between Chad and the Sudan. Relations between those two brotherly neighbours have an impact on the security and humanitarian situation on both sides of the border, with negative repercussions for the peace efforts in Darfur and the region as a whole. We therefore appeal to the two parties to relaunch dialogue towards the implementation of the Tripoli Agreement of 8 February 2006 to guarantee security along their common border. That would surely alleviate the suffering of refugees and internally displaced persons, help to achieve a peaceful settlement, and create the objective conditions for ending the conflicts in Darfur and Chad.
Lastly, we extend our best wishes to the Ambassador of Croatia and thank her for all her hard work in the Organization. As she will be leaving us shortly, we wish her every success in her new endeavours.
