Statement by the delegation of Ukraine at the UNSC briefing on UNAMID

Madam President,

· I join other colleagues in congratulating Mr. Jeremiah Mamabolo upon his appointment as Joint Special Representative for Darfur. Ukraine fully supports his efforts aimed at advancing peace in Sudan.

· In light of the information presented during Mr. Mamabolo’s briefing, my delegation wishes to highlight the following points.

· First — on the security situation.

· Ukraine welcomes the fact that the security situation in most parts of Darfur has remained stable over the recent months. Although no major fighting between the government forces and rebel groups has been observed latterly, attacks against internally displaced persons committed by armed militias continue to occur and must be halted immediately. We hope that unilateral ceasefires declared by the government of Sudan and non-signatory movements of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur will continue to hold. We also call the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army — Abdul Wahid to refrain from military activity and join the peace talks.

· In this vein we expect that all parties will keep on undertaking genuine efforts aimed at preserving the positive momentum with a view of resolving critical issues related to the safe return of internally displaced persons and the reactivation of the peace talks.

· This brings me to my second point — the political process.

· The progress on the political track has been visible. The endorsement of amendments to the constitution, the creation of a Government of National Reconciliation and a post of Prime Minister as well as the separation of the posts of Attorney General and Minister of Justice are steps in the right direction. My delegation also notes the positive engagement by the government and the SPLM-North faction, which resulted in the mutual release of respective prisoners of war.

· We urge the Sudanese government and the opposition parties to continue implementing the National Dialogue recommendations. Ukraine also looks forward to the resumption of talks facilitated by the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel.

· My third and last point is on UNAMID.

· Given the fact that the situation in Darfur has evolved since 2015, we believe that UNAMID’s current mandate and tasks deserve a close consideration. We look forward to conclusions of the strategic review mission which was conducted by the UN — AU integrated team last month. The key priority in this regard should be to ensure the gradual transfer of tasks from UNAMID to the UN country team in the framework of peacebuilding efforts in Darfur.

· Meanwhile, we are concerned by continued restrictions and impediments to UNAMID work. These include delays in the clearance of containers with equipment and supplies for the Mission as well as denial of access into some parts of Darfur.

· We call on the government of Sudan to remove these restrictions in line with its obligations under the status-of-forces agreement.

Finally, as the Chair of the Sanctions Committee established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005) concerning Sudan, I remain committed to continue working closely with the government of Sudan on issues within my mandate.