| Date | 16 May 2006 |
|---|---|
| Started | 10:50 |
| Ended | 11:00 |
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Reports of the Secretary-General on the Sudan
| President: |  | Mr. Ikouebe Congo |
(The Presidency changes each month to the next member in alphabetical order) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Members: |  | Mr. D'Alotto Argentina |
 | Mr. Zhang Yishan China |
 | Ms. Løj Denmark |
 | Mr. De La Sablière France |
 | Nana Effah-Apenteng Ghana |
 | Mr. Vassilakis Greece |
|
 | Mr. Kitaoka Japan |
 | Ms. Tincopa Peru |
 | Mr. Al-Nasser Qatar |
|
 | Mr. Churkin Russia |
 | Mr. Burian Slovakia |
 | Sir Emyr Jones Parry United Kingdom |
|
 | Mrs. Taj Tanzania |
 | Mr. Bolton United States |
|||
Adoption of the agenda
Reports of the Secretary-General on the Sudan
The President
The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda.
Members of the Council have before them document S/2006/296, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Argentina, the Congo, Denmark, France, Ghana, Greece, Peru, Slovakia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United Republic of Tanzania and the United States of America.
It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. Unless I hear any objection, I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.
There being no objection, it is so decided.
| favour | against |
| abstain | absent |
favour=15 against=0 abstain=0 absent=0
Argentina, China, Congo, Denmark, France, Ghana, Greece, Japan, Peru, Qatar, Russia, Slovakia, Tanzania, United Kingdom, United States
The President
There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 1679 (2006).
I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements following the voting.
Mr. Churkin (Russia)
In the light of the position of the African Union set out in the communiqué of its Peace and Security Council of 15 May, which we share, the Russian Federation supported the resolution just adopted, which endorses African efforts to achieve a peaceful settlement in Darfur.
However, we continue to believe that the reference in the resolution to Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter neither alters the character of the Security Council's decisions on the Sudan nor predetermines the mandate of the future United Nations peacekeeping presence in Darfur, to be established in the light of all relevant factors and dynamics of the situation in that Sudanese province and in the Sudan as a whole.
It is also important that further steps to establish a United Nations peacekeeping presence in Darfur be agreed with the Government of the Sudan.
The Russian Federation will continue to lend every possible assistance to reinforcing a political settlement in Darfur, in the interests of the unity and territorial integrity of the Sudan and the consolidation of peace and security in the region.
Mr. Zhang Yishan (China)
In Abuja on 5 May, the Sudanese Government and the Sudanese Liberation Movement signed the Darfur peace agreement, marking a turning point in the Sudanese peace process.
China welcomes the convening by the Peace and Security Council of the African Union of a ministerial meeting on 15 May, at which follow-up action was discussed and a communiqué issued.
In our view, the following issues are of the greatest urgency.
First, the parties that have not yet signed the peace agreement must be urged to do so in swift response to the request of the African Union (AU). Secondly, all parties in the Sudan must be asked to honour their commitments and to implement the agreement in a comprehensive, timely and faithful manner. All sides need to promote conditions conducive to the implementation of the agreement.
China welcomes the fact that resolution 1679 (2006) reflects the aforementioned issues, particularly its wording on strengthening the capacities of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), consistent with the AU's decision and request. We have therefore voted in favour of the resolution.
We note, however, that China still has reservations concerning the resolution's invocation of Chapter VII of the Charter. The heading of Chapter VII reads "Action with respect to the threats to the peace, breaches of the peace, and acts of aggression". The contents of resolution 1679 (2006) are clearly inconsistent with that wording. On the basis of our political support for the AU and in order to establish conditions for the speediest possible implementation of the resolution, we have not pressed our objections, but that should not be construed as constituting a precedent for the Security Council's future discussion and adoption of new resolutions on the Sudan. At the appropriate time, there should be a specific agreement based on specific circumstances.
With respect to the United Nations peacekeeping operation that is to succeed AMIS, our country's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Li Zhaoxing, laid out China's position at last week's Security Council meeting of foreign ministers. We believe that, if the United Nations is to deploy a peacekeeping operation in Darfur, the agreement and cooperation of the Sudanese Government must be obtained. That is a basic principle and precondition for the deployment of all United Nations peacekeeping operations.
Mr. Al-Nasser (Qatar)
Aware of the need for consensus in the Council and at the request of the African Union, and bearing in mind the necessity of coordination with and the approval of the Sudanese Government for a transfer of responsibilities from the African Union forces to a United Nations force, my delegation voted in favour of resolution 1679 (2006), as amended. My delegation interprets the amendments as being required in conformity with resolution 1591 (2005), and that they do not imply that the Security Council is prepared to carry out the transfer prior to the approval of the Sudanese Government, in accordance with paragraph 4 of that resolution.
My delegation will continue to support every effort to establish peace in Darfur.
The President
There are no further speakers on my list. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council will remain seized of the matter.
