Sudan: UN envoy declared persona non grata by government

In Sudan, the armed forces of General al-Burhan and those of General Hemedti have accepted the principle of a 24-hour ceasefire, announced on June 9, 2023 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, country where mediation is taking place concerning this conflict that began on April 15. Earlier, on Friday, the Sudanese government announced that it had declared persona non grata the UN envoy to Sudan, German Volker Perthes. Explanations.

[Illustrative image] Volker Perthes, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sudan and Head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, oversees the evacuation of internationally recruited staff in Port Sudan on 24 April 2023. AFP--

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The UN envoy to Sudan, German Volker Perthes, has been declared persona non grata by the Sudanese government, which accuses him of having responsibility for the war. This is not the first time the junta has attacked the UN envoy.

With this decision, the Sudanese government responds directly to the Secretary-General of the United Nations who had decided to keep Volker Perthes in office. However, General al-Burhan had asked for his replacement in a letter addressed personally to António Guterres.

>> Read also: The Guest Africa - Sudan: Volker Perthes (UN) calls for "a stable and secure ceasefire for citizens"

For several observers, the Sudanese military is seeking to weaken the UN mission to stay in power and evade justice. Let us recall that they are accused of war crimes in Darfur and, according to these analysts, they cling to their posts to avoid being tried.

However, since his arrival, following the 2020 Juba peace agreement, the UN envoy had been working to remind the military of the need to resume the process of political dialogue with the signatories of the agreement, as well as with the non-signatories.

« Volker Perthes has an overly realistic view of Sudan »

Whenever the military has been under pressure from the international community to return power to civilians, it has attacked the UN mission. Then, they began to no longer issue visas to its members.

The task of the mission is now more complicated, especially since Volker Perthes will have to work from Nairobi.

Gérard Prunier, a specialist in East Africa, also points out about Volker Perthes: "This man has too realistic a view of Sudan. He is neither pro Burhan nor pro Hemedti. But he would like to see an end to the madness that began on April 15. And the researcher concludes, at the microphone of Houda Ibrahim: "The consequences, in my opinion, there will not be many. Because, at present, the United Nations, politically, is a corpse. They can't do anything at all.

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Read on on the same topics:

• Sudan
• UN
• Abdel Fattah al-Burhan