Discurso do Representante Permanente Alterno, Embaixador João Genésio de Almeida Filho, em reunião do Conselho de Segurança sobre os Relatórios do Secretário-Geral do Sudão e Sudão do Sul (UNISFA) - 09 de maio de 2023 (texto em inglês)

Thank you, Madam President.

I thank Assistant Secretary-General Pobee and Special Envoy Tetteh for their valuable briefings.

I would also like to welcome the Sudan and South Sudan delegations to this meeting.

Brazil is proud to contribute to the United Nations interim security force for Abyei.

It would be remiss not to commend UNISFA’s work and show our gratitude to all troop and police-contributing countries that enable vital activities in the Sudan-South Sudan border under dire circumstances.

We sincerely appreciate the tireless efforts to protect civilians and Sustain the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Abyei.

Madam President,

Brazil echoes the concerns by the Secretary-general in his latest report about the impact of the military clashes in Sudan on the issues relevant to the Abyei situation.

Displaced Sudanese civilians who fled to Abyei in the last weeks have dealt with the spiking food prices affecting the local population since the clashes began on April fifteen.

The fragile security in and around the box may deteriorate even more under the new, evolving circumstances.

We urge the parties to the conflict in Sudan to solve their differences through dialogue.

We commend the active role played by the UN, the African Union, igad, the Arab League, the U.S, the U.K., Saudi Arabia, and all partners of Sudan who have pushed for a negotiated resolution to the ongoing conflict.

Madam President,

Dialogue is also vital to the dynamics in Abyei and the bilateral links between Sudan and South Sudan.

The January summit in juba was a timely development due to an increasing need to revitalize the Abyei political process.

We sincerely hope that trust between Sudan and South Sudan keeps growing.

Their commitment to shared understanding and fair implementation of agreed measures underpins any viable and sustainable solution to the status of Abyei.

Aside from acknowledging the crucial stabilizing factor played by neighboring countries so far, we commend how regional and subregional arrangements have stimulated convergence between the two countries.

We particularly uphold South Sudan’s leadership role alongside Djibouti and Kenya in the ongoing igad engagements with the Sudanese armed forces and the rapid support forces.

If South Sudan and Sudan become more prominent stakeholders in each other’s peace, the chances of reaching a deal on their shared border issues will increase.

Madam President,

UNISFA has dealt remarkably well with the challenge of troop reconfiguration.

It has largely succeeded in the delicate transition from being a single T.C.C. mission to a multinational one.

We also believe that UNISFA’s one-year mandate established by resolution 2660 has been an improvement.

It enhances the mission's ability to properly implement its fundamental tenets and responsibilities.

A more extended authorization entails the mission’s leadership and peacekeepers to establish deeper networks with local communities and stakeholders.

However, we are concerned that UNISFA will probably face even more stern tests ahead.

Fighting and displacement in Sudan may cause unpredictable effects in Abyei.

Long-standing hindrances to UNISFA’s activities remain unsolved, such as visa processing.

This unnecessary tribulation impairs the mission's pivot to additional peacebuilding, police, and justice tasks.

We reiterate our full support for UNISFA.

Even if today’s most pressing issues for Sudan and South Sudan lie elsewhere, security in Abyei depends on the peacekeeping mission's activities.

The proper implementation of the mission's mandate benefits both parties.

In conclusion, we strongly encourage Sudan and South Sudan to seize the essential support provided by the un through unisfa, redouble their goodwill vis-à-vis the mission’s personnel, and solve the outstanding issues that affect UNISFA’s activities.

And I thank you.