UNITED NATIONS, April 13 (NNN-Xinhua) — The five European Union members of the United Nations Security Council have called for a council meeting to discuss the situation in Sudan, said the council president on Friday.
The Sudan meeting may come as early as Monday “if the situation warrants,” German Ambassador to the United Nations Christoph Heusgen, whose country holds the Security Council presidency for the month of April, told reporters after closed-door consultations of the council.
The consultations were about Colombia, but the situation in Sudan was discussed under “any other business.”
A Security Council meeting early on is a signal by itself, and everybody in the council consultations understood this as a strong signal that the Security Council is dealing with the issue, said Heusgen.
The Security Council was briefed by UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Bintou Keita, who described the situation on the spot in Sudan and also with regard to the UN peacekeepers there, said Heusgen.
The council members have said that the council will continue to monitor the situation, he said. African members of the Security Council said the African Union will meet on Sunday to discuss the situation in Sudan, he added.
The EU members of the Security Council — Britain, France, Belgium, Poland and Germany — call on the parties in the conflict to exercise restraint, said Heusgen. “We, of course, believe that there has to be a peaceful solution to the conflict, and the solution has to reflect the will of the people.”
What is important amid the current fluid situation is that human rights are respected as wells as the right of assembly, he said. “We have to come to a credible and inclusive political process that will lead to the transition that we all want to (see).”
On Thursday, Sudanese Defense Minister Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf announced the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir and his government. — NNN-AGENCIES