Sudan claims it is exercising its “legitimate right” as a member state by refusing the UN envoy in the country

2023-08-11 10:59:22

MADRID, 11 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Sudan has defended that its position on the head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes, whom it threatened if he attended a session before the UN Security Council to explain the atrocities of the conflict in the country, does not represent any kind of “blackmail”, but is exercising its “legitimate right” as a Member State.

“Sudan was successful in its attempt to exclude Perthes from the session. Sudan had previously declared him ‘persona non grata’. He is no longer a representative of the UN Secretary General in the eyes of the Sudanese government,” explained the Foreign Minister of the country, Ali al Sadiq, in statements to the SUNA news agency.

He also explained that Khartoum “was a victim of blackmail” in the past “by some superpowers that enjoy permanent membership in the Security Council. “(They) continue to use the body to harm developing countries and force them to adopt an approach that responds to their ambitions,” he added, as reported by ‘Sudan Ajbar’ this Friday.

This comes after Perthes ultimately failed to appear before the body after Sudan threatened to expel UNITAMS if it did, a stance that has been denounced by the US representative to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

More than four million people have fled their homes since the outbreak in mid-April of fighting between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to the latest balance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (UNHCR).