The UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution giving a green light for the UN to prepare for a peacekeeping operation in southern Sudan and calling for a halt to fighting in the western Darfur region and elsewhere.
Friday's resolution welcomes the signing of a declaration on June 5 by representatives of the Sudanese government and southern rebels covering six previously negotiated protocols, and their commitment to complete a peace agreement.
Among the procedures left to finalize are an internationally monitored cease-fire agreement and a timeline for implementing the pact that will end a 21-year civil war. Talks to put together the comprehensive peace agreement will begin June 22.
The Security Council urged the government and southern rebels to conclude the agreement "speedily," saying it would contribute "to improved stability and peace in Sudan."
Sudan's UN Ambassador Elfatih Mohamed Erwa said "right now there is peace in the south."
A ceasefire has been in place for two years, he said, and now that "the major obstacles" in a final agreement have been overcome the last issue is implementation.
The resolution welcomes Secretary-General Kofi Annan's proposal to establish an advance team, for an initial three-month period, to make contact with the parties and prepare for an international monitoring mission once a final peace agreement is signed.
The council asked Annan to make recommendations on the size, structure and mandate of a UN operation "as soon as possible" after the final deal is reached.
In the meantime, the resolution authorizes the United Nations to start pre-positioning critical supplies and personnel to facilitate rapid deployment of a possible mission to assist in monitoring and verifying compliance with the final peace deal.
During final negotiations on the text of the resolution, there was a debate over whether the fighting in Darfur should be included, because it is separate from the conflict in the south.
Late last month, the Security Council put new pressure on the Sudanese government to end the conflict in Darfur, where thousands have been killed in fighting between Arab militias and the black African population. Thousands more have been driven from their homes and the United Nations says 2 million people are in acute need of food and medical help.
The resolution adopted Friday calls for an immediate halt to fighting in Darfur and in the Upper Nile, calls for a political agreement "without delay," and welcomes African Union efforts to help achieve one.
Indonesia yesterday began enforcing its newly ratified penal code, replacing a Dutch-era criminal law that had governed the country for more than 80 years and marking a major shift in its legal landscape. Since proclaiming independence in 1945, the Southeast Asian country had continued to operate under a colonial framework widely criticized as outdated and misaligned with Indonesia’s social values. Efforts to revise the code stalled for decades as lawmakers debated how to balance human rights, religious norms and local traditions in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. The 345-page Indonesian Penal Code, known as the KUHP, was passed in 2022. It
‘DISRESPECTFUL’: Katie Miller, the wife of Trump’s most influential adviser, drew ire by posting an image of Greenland in the colors of the US flag, captioning it ‘SOON’ US President Donald Trump on Sunday doubled down on his claim that Greenland should become part of the US, despite calls by the Danish prime minister to stop “threatening” the territory. Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears for Greenland, which Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex, given its strategic location in the arctic. While aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, Trump reiterated the goal. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “We’ll worry about Greenland in
PERILOUS JOURNEY: Over just a matter of days last month, about 1,600 Afghans who were at risk of perishing due to the cold weather were rescued in the mountains Habibullah set off from his home in western Afghanistan determined to find work in Iran, only for the 15-year-old to freeze to death while walking across the mountainous frontier. “He was forced to go, to bring food for the family,” his mother, Mah Jan, said at her mud home in Ghunjan village. “We have no food to eat, we have no clothes to wear. The house in which I live has no electricity, no water. I have no proper window, nothing to burn for heating,” she added, clutching a photograph of her son. Habibullah was one of at least 18 migrants who died
Russia early yesterday bombarded Ukraine, killing two people in the Kyiv region, authorities said on the eve of a diplomatic summit in France. A nationwide siren was issued just after midnight, while Ukraine’s military said air defenses were operating in several places. In the capital, a private medical facility caught fire as a result of the Russian strikes, killing one person and wounding three others, the State Emergency Service of Kyiv said. It released images of rescuers removing people on stretchers from a gutted building. Another pre-dawn attack on the neighboring city of Fastiv killed one man in his 70s, Kyiv Governor Mykola
RSS