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.
PARLIAMENT CHAOS: Police forcibly removed Brazilian Deputy Glauber Braga after he called the legislation part of a ‘coup offensive’ and occupied the speaker’s chair Brazil’s lower house of Congress early yesterday approved a bill that could slash former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s prison sentence for plotting a coup, after efforts by a lawmaker to disrupt the proceedings sparked chaos in parliament. Bolsonaro has been serving a 27-year term since last month after his conviction for a scheme to stop Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 election. Lawmakers had been discussing a bill that would significantly reduce sentences for several crimes, including attempting a coup d’etat — opening up the prospect that Bolsonaro, 70, could have his sentence cut to
China yesterday held a low-key memorial ceremony for the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) not attending, despite a diplomatic crisis between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan. Beijing has raged at Tokyo since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last month said that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Japan. China and Japan have long sparred over their painful history. China consistently reminds its people of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, in which it says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then its capital. A post-World War II Allied tribunal put the death toll
A passerby could hear the cacophony from miles away in the Argentine capital, the unmistakable sound of 2,397 dogs barking — and breaking the unofficial world record for the largest-ever gathering of golden retrievers. Excitement pulsed through Bosques de Palermo, a sprawling park in Buenos Aires, as golden retriever-owners from all over Argentina transformed the park’s grassy expanse into a sea of bright yellow fur. Dog owners of all ages, their clothes covered in dog hair and stained with slobber, plopped down on picnic blankets with their beloved goldens to take in the surreal sight of so many other, exceptionally similar-looking ones.
‘UNWAVERING ALLIANCE’: The US Department of State said that China’s actions during military drills with Russia were not conducive to regional peace and stability The US on Tuesday criticized China over alleged radar deployments against Japanese military aircraft during a training exercise last week, while Tokyo and Seoul yesterday scrambled jets after Chinese and Russian military aircraft conducted joint patrols near the two countries. The incidents came after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi triggered a dispute with Beijing last month with her remarks on how Tokyo might react to a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan. “China’s actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability,” a US Department of State spokesperson said late on Tuesday, referring to the radar incident. “The US-Japan alliance is stronger and more
RSS