The Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, stressed that only the Sudanese can put an end to this war, but stressed the need for the international community to unite its efforts to support them in order to achieve this noble goal.
Lamamra called on the leaders of the warring parties to take immediate action and strong steps to end this suffering through the signing and diligent implementation of a cessation of hostilities agreement that could lead to lasting peace in the country. Lamamra said during a speech at the extraordinary IGAD summit on Sudan, held on Thursday in Uganda, that many Sudanese have confirmed their desire to hand over power to a civilian government that will govern the country during an interim transitional period pending elections.
He explained that the Secretary-General of the United Nations had asked him to make himself fully available to support regional efforts related to Sudan – including those of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). Accordingly, Lamamra said he visited the region over the past week – including an initial mission to Port Sudan, noting that he would continue such visits and discussions in the coming weeks.
He explained that during his recent visits, he said he had met with many Sudanese who had consistently expressed the need to end the war – including the warring parties themselves.
The sound of guns must be silenced
The Sudanese people have suffered immensely since the outbreak of the war. Lamamra said the United Nations firmly believes that stopping the war is the most urgent need for the Sudanese people. “The war has devastated Sudan over the past nine months – causing the world’s largest displacement crisis today. Every minute that this war continues, the Sudanese people pay a heavy price in human lives.
The first step must therefore be a nationwide cessation of hostilities that is implementable and closely monitored, and forms the basis for lasting peace.”
The UN envoy stressed the need to silence the guns, “because the war continues to pose serious threats to the unity and territorial integrity of Sudan as well as to the security and stability of the region and beyond.”
Need for unified international mediation
The Personal Envoy said that he and the Secretary-General are convinced that there is a need for a unified and coherent international mediation process that harnesses the resources and approach of our organizations to help the Sudanese end this vicious war. He hoped that “we can discuss how to benefit from this process in current efforts. Lamamra noted that the Secretary-General praised In this regard, the continued efforts of the leaders of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to put an end to this devastating conflict and their continued attempts to begin concrete talks towards a cessation of hostilities. He expressed his readiness and broader United Nations mechanisms to support the parties in these efforts.
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