UNITED NATIONS: Rhino – After Russia’s veto, the UN Security Council failed to adopt a resolution on Sudan calling on the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to respect and fully implement their obligations in the Jeddah Declaration on the protection of civilians, including taking all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize harm to civilians.
As soon as the Security Council meeting to vote on the draft resolution began, the French ambassador requested closed consultations among members to resolve their differences on the draft resolution to ensure its adoption. The President of the Council, the British Ambassador, proposed to suspend the meeting for consultations, which was decided after no opposition from the members.
After several minutes of consultations, members returned to the Security Council chamber and the vote on the draft resolution – submitted by Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom – took place. The draft resolution was supported by 14 of the 15 members of the Security Council. The council was unable to adopt the resolution due to a veto by the Russian Federation – one of the five permanent members of the council.
The draft resolution calls on the parties to the conflict to immediately cease hostilities and engage in good faith in a dialogue to agree on steps to de-escalate the conflict and to urgently agree on a nationwide ceasefire.
After the vote, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council, said that Sudanese civilians have suffered unimaginable violence during the war and that this suffering is a scar on the collective conscience.
Speaking in his national capacity, he added: “In the face of these horrors, the United Kingdom and Sierra Leone worked to bring this Council together to address this crisis and humanitarian catastrophe to protect civilians, ensure humanitarian access and call for a ceasefire. One country has stood in the way of the Council speaking with one voice. One country is the obstructionist and the enemy of peace. The Russian veto is a disgrace and shows the world once again the true face of Russia.”
