S/PV.5947
5947th meeting
Thursday, 31 July 2008, 9.40 p.m.
New York
Reports of the Secretary-General on the Sudan
Mr. Mubarak (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (spoke in Arabic): At the outset, allow me to commend the delegation of the United Kingdom for its tremendous effort in preparing today’s draft resolution on the extension of the mandate of African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) for a further 12 months, until 31 July 2009. We express our deep gratitude for the United Kingdom delegation’s sterling conduct of the consultations on the draft resolution. My delegation participated in the consultations based on the general understanding that the basic purpose of the draft resolution was to extend UNAMID’s mandate, taking into account the technical aspects relevant to completing the effective deployment of the mission, as expected and as stipulated in resolution 1769 (2007), without going into the new elements that are to be considered on their own tracks.
From the beginning of the consultations, the draft resolution contained elements referring to the principles of justice and combating impunity for the crimes committed in Darfur — principles on which all members of the Council agree. However, the content of those elements were conflated with recent measures taken by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The implications of those measures and the fears and concerns that they have aroused within and outside the Sudan have been expressed by several regional organizations, including the African Union, the Organization’s main partner in UNAMID; the League of Arab States; and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. That is what led the delegations of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, South Africa and Burkina Faso, with the support of the delegations of other Council members, to propose amendments to the draft resolution based on the positions adopted by those regional organizations regarding the possible repercussions of those measures, which could undermine current peace efforts in Darfur and further complicate the situation in the Sudan and the entire region.
We asked that language be included in the draft resolution requesting the Security Council to call on the ICC to defer its consideration of the application made by the Prosecutor on the basis of the provisions of article 16 of the Rome Statute, which gives the Security Council the authority to request the ICC to defer any investigation or prosecution for 12 months. The proposal was drafted to reflect the language set out in the communiqué of the 142nd meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council, issued on 21 July 2008, which stated that the search for justice should be pursued in a way that does not impede or jeopardize efforts aimed at promoting lasting peace and expressed concern at the misuse of indictments against African leaders, in conformity with its decision on the abuse of the principle of universal jurisdiction, adopted at the eleventh ordinary session of the Assembly of the African Union, held at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on 30 June and 1 July 2008.
The African Union Peace and Security Council expressed its conviction that, in view of the delicate nature of the processes under way in the Sudan, approval by the Pretrial Chamber of the application by the ICC Prosecutor could seriously undermine the ongoing efforts to facilitate the early resolution of the conflict and the promotion of lasting peace and reconciliation in the Sudan as a whole, which could ease the suffering of the people of Darfur and promote the destabilization of the country and the region. Furthermore, the Peace and Security Council stressed the need for international justice to be pursued in a transparent and fair manner in order to avoid any perception of double standards, in conformity with the principles of international law, and expressed concern at the threat that such a development could pose to efforts aimed at promoting the rule of law and stability and at building strong national institutions in Africa.
Despite all the reasons that we put forward to justify our proposed amendments to the draft resolution, we did not receive the hoped-for response from certain Council members. In addition, because the resolution concerns a very important and sensitive issue — extending UNAMID’s mandate within the required time frame — and because we were keen to ensure the continuity and effectiveness of the mission, we accepted the consensual language of the ninth preambular paragraph, which gives the Council the opportunity to further consider the issue of invoking article 16 of the Rome Statute of the ICC regarding the situation in Darfur. We hope that that will be done as soon as possible, because the main objective remains to ensure security and stability in the Sudan and the region, as well as peace and security for the Mission, in order to guarantee its success in Darfur.
We therefore voted in favour of the resolution. We believe that we did not sacrifice our substantive proposals in vain, because we garnered the support of 14 Council members, which was a victory for the entire Council. However, I wonder if, at the request of more than two thirds of the membership of the international community, the Security Council does not invoke article 16 of the Rome Statute, when will it do so?
