In Briefing to Security Council, Sudan Sanctions Committee Chair Describes Work of Subsidiary Body, Discussions Held with Concerned Member States

In a briefing to the Security Council today, the Chair of the “1591” Committee on Sudan detailed recent discussions aimed at identifying information gaps and capacity-building requirements related to the travel ban, assets freeze and arms embargo in place against the North African country since 2005.

María Cristina Perceval of Argentina said that during the 28 August to 24 November 2014 reporting period, the subsidiary body, acting on the recommendation of its Panel of Experts, had initiated such a dialogue with interested Member States in the context of sanctions implementation.

At its fifth formal meeting on 13 November, Committee members met with representatives of Sudan, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya and South Sudan, she said, noting that several participants called for more frequent interaction between the Committee and interested Member States.  Sudan’s representative, in particular, outlined steps his Government had taken to cooperate with the Committee and its Expert Panel, including agreements with Libya and Chad on the operation of joint border forces to prevent arms flow into Darfur.

At the meeting, she said, one Committee member had identified arms flow between the Sudanese Government and Darfur as the main issue.  Stronger implementation of the travel ban was urged, given the Panel’s reports of violations, and States that had not done so were urged to submit their implementation reports.

She also noted that another Committee member applauded the growing cooperation between Sudan and the Panel of Experts.  Some Committee members stressed that better cooperation mechanisms were still needed, while still others called the Chair’s visit to Sudan earlier this year “highly useful”.  At that meeting’s conclusion, she told participants she hoped that a deeper culture of dialogue would emerge and become a best practice, leading to a greater trust that would contribute to the Committee’s efficiency.

On other matters, she said the Panel of Experts had submitted its third quarterly update to the Committee on 13 November.  The Panel had maintained an “almost continuous” presence in Sudan and Darfur between 13 August and 4 November, with Panel members travelling extensively throughout the region for discussions related to their mandate.  The report also detailed interactions with the Sudanese National Focal Point, which would be covered in the Panel’s final report to the Council no later than 17 January 2015.

The Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005) concerning the Sudan is charged with overseeing relevant sanctions measures

and carrying out tasks outlined by the Council in sub-paragraph 3 (a) of the same resolution.

The meeting began at 4:20 p.m. and ended at 4:26 p.m.