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STATEMENT BY
MS. SITI HAJJAR ADNIN
DEPUTY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF MALAYSIA
TO THE UNITED NATIONS
AT THE SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFING ON
SUDAN AND SOUTH SUDAN
29 JUNE 2015
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Excellencies,
I thank Ms. Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, for presenting the twenty-first report to the Council pursuant to paragraph 8 of resolution 1593 outlining the judicial and prosecutorial activities of the Court.
2. We are deeply concerned at the security situation in Darfur, as reflected by the escalation in fighting between the Sudan armed forces and the armed groups, the inter-communal conflicts and incidents of banditry and criminality. The proliferation of small arms has further contributed to the destabilisation of the region.
3. The humanitarian situation in Darfur, according to OCHA, is also a matter of concern. The escalation in conflict has resulted in an increase of 130,000 new IDPs, especially in the Jebel Marra area. We call on the parties to immediately cease all attacks on civilians and humanitarian and peacekeeping personnel. We wish to remind all parties to the conflict of their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law. We further hold the view that the perpetrators of such crimes must be held accountable.
4. We are further concerned that UNAMID continues to face restrictions of movement, denials of access and attacks against its personnel. We call on the Government of Sudan to expeditiously investigate and act accordingly regarding the numerous reported Status of Forces (SOFA) violations. We commend UNAMID, in light of these challenges, of being steadfast and resolute in striving to achieve its strategic objectives. It is in recognition of UNAMID’s important role in and contribution to the Darfur peace process that Malaysia had supported the adoption of the resolution to renew UNAMID’s mandate for a further 1 year.
5. We also commend the convening of the Joint Working Group to deliberate on UNAMID’s exit strategy. We are supportive of basing UNAMID’s phased and gradual exit against a set of benchmarks, as laid out in Annex 1 of the UN Secretary-General’s report of 15 April 2014.
6. We are convinced that there is no military solution to the conflict in Darfur. We strongly condemn any actions aimed at the forced overthrow of the Government of Sudan. We urge the parties to the conflict, in this regard, to remain guided by the Doha Declaration for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) framework. We encourage the Government of Sudan to relaunch direct negotiations with the parties to the conflict and further encourage the parties to return to the negotiating table and to engage constructively. As regards the inter-communal and inter-tribal conflicts, we encourage the Government of Sudan to look into and effectively address the root causes of the disputes.
7. We acknowledge and highly commend the efforts of the Government of Chad in successfully mediating the signing of a peace agreement between the Government of Sudan with a breakaway faction of the SLA/MM (Sudan Liberation Army/Minni Minawi), in a parallel initiative to the DDPD (Doha Document for Peace in Darfur) and the efforts of the AUHIP (AU High-Level Implementation Panel). We believe that efforts such as those would contribute significantly towards the peace process in Darfur.
8. Malaysia is of the view that efforts by the Government of Sudan to demonstrate compliance with the relevant Security Council resolutions and their commitment to hold those responsible for violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law accountable would contribute positively towards building trust and confidence.
Thank you.