Alyurae-Khartoum-GENEVA, Cairo-(Reuters) – The United Nations human rights council on Friday adopted a British-led resolution on Sudan condemning the military coup and appointing an expert to monitor alleged rights violations in its aftermath.
The resolution agreed at an emergency session in Geneva means that an expert will be appointed to monitor the situation on the ground and prepare a written report by mid-2022. Several members including China and Russia stood apart from the consensus but stopped short of calling a vote.
“This afternoon, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the brave people of Sudan who have demonstrated in their millions on the streets of their country in defence of democracy, and of their fundamentals rights,” Britain’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Simon Manley told the Council.
In the same session, the top U.N. rights official Michelle Bachelet called on Sudan’s military leaders to step back and end the deadly use of force that she said has so far killed at least 13 civilians.
“I urge Sudan’s military leaders, and their backers, to step back in order to allow the country to return to the path of progress towards institutional and legal reforms,” she said.
Bachelet said the release of politicians, journalists and protesters was “essential for an inclusive dialogue and a swift return to civilian rule” in remarks widely echoed by the council’s 47 members.
The United Nations is seeking an end to the political crisis following the coup via talks between Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who was placed under house arrest, and coup leaders.
Germany’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Katharina Stasch said the resolution also prepared by Germany, Norway and the United States marked “an important step to ensure accountability for human rights violations committed.”
U.S. envoy Robert Riley vowed to continue “full throttle efforts” to support democratic aspirations in Sudan. Sudan’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Ali Ibn Abi Talib Abdelrahman Mahmoud, a representative of the ousted government, attended and told Reuters on the sidelines that he supported the resolution.
mediation still on
According to (Reuters) news agency, The United Nations has been trying to mediate an end to the political crisis that followed the coup in which top civilian politicians were detained and Hamdok was placed under house arrest.
The U.N. special envoy for Sudan, special representative Volker Perthes, said talks had yielded the outline of a potential deal on a return to power-sharing, including the ousted premier’s reinstatement.
But he urged an agreement in “days not weeks” before both sides’ positions harden.
Hamdok has demanded the release of all detainees and the reversal of the coup as conditions for any further negotiations with the military.
The country’s highest authority, the joint civilian-military Sovereign Council, had been dissolved by Burhan along with the civilian-led cabinet.
Burhan, who says he is committed to a transition to democracy and elections, said after the coup that a new Sovereign Council and cabinet would be appointed.
Neighborhood resistance committees, which have led protests since the coup and held demonstrations on Thursday, reject negotiations and have demanded that the military exit politics.
The Sudanese Professionals Association, which led the 2019 protests that brought down Omar al-Bashir, called late on Thursday for two days of general strikes on Sunday and Monday in protest against military rule.
