Tomorrow Russia is scheduled to go before the United Nations General Assembly to explain why it vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Sudan last week, at a time when civilians are facing an onslaught of unlawful attacks and a man-made famine spreads across the country.
The resolution, co-sponsored by the United Kingdom and Sierra Leone, sought to build on an October report by UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the protection of civilians in Sudan and a June Security Council resolution.
In the days running up to the vote, the text had been watered down to ensure consensus. Its primary request was for the secretary-general to develop an implementation mechanism to ensure compliance with the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan, a commitment both Sudan’s warring parties made last year to respect their obligations according to international humanitarian law. Both parties have since brazenly violated the terms of this declaration.
Russia gave the flimsy justification that its veto was intended to help “our African brothers.” Such arguments are hard to take seriously when all three African council members, Algeria, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone, voted in favor of the draft resolution.
The veto came as Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked civilians in Sudan’s breadbasket of Al Gezira state, killing hundreds, raping women and girls, and forcing over 340,000 to flee. The RSF also continues to besiege North Darfur’s capital El Fasher, as heavy fighting between the RSF against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), joint Darfuri forces and their allies continue to endanger civilians, in defiance of the June UN Security Council resolution.
The SAF and the RSF are both willfully blocking access to aid, including to famine-stricken communities. Many soup kitchens across the country, a lifeline for many civilians, are struggling to feed people faced with limited funding, ongoing harassment and attacks by parties.
Most members of the Security Council have acknowledged the gravity of the situation and the need for urgent action. This resolution has been a long time coming and now is not the time to give up.
During the debate in the General Assembly tomorrow, states from across the world should urge council members, including the United States which holds the Council presidency in December, to go back to the drawing board and devise a plan for robust civilian protection that includes the deployment of a mission for the protection of civilians. The actions of Sudan’s warring parties make clear why this is essential: without a physical protection presence, large numbers of civilians will continue be killed, raped, and starved while the world watches on in horror.
