Russia vetoes Sudan ceasefire resolution at UN Security Council

UK slams Russia for vetoing solution urging contiguous extremity to hostilities, talks to scope ‘national ceasefire’.

Russia has vetoed a United Nations Security Council solution calling for an contiguous ceasefire successful Sudan, arsenic the state continues to grapple with a deadly warfare that has displaced millions of people and spurred a humanitarian crisis.

The resolution, authored by the United Kingdom and Sierra Leone, had called connected each warring parties successful Sudan to “immediately cease hostilities” and initiate a dialog connected a “national ceasefire”.

Russia was the lone subordinate of the 15-member assembly to ballot against the measurement connected Monday morning, successful a determination that British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said was “mean, nasty and cynical”.

“One state stood successful the mode of the assembly speaking with 1 voice. One state is the blocker,” Lammy said aft the vote.

“How galore much Sudanese person to beryllium killed, however galore much women person to beryllium raped, however galore much children person to spell without nutrient earlier Russia volition act? Russia volition person to explicate itself to the full United Nations rank now.”

War erupted betwixt the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) successful April 2023, creating the world’s largest displacement situation and sidesplitting tens of thousands, according to United Nations officials.

The struggle has displaced much than 11 cardinal people, including 3.1 cardinal who person fled the country, the UN has reported.

A motortruck carrying gunmen affiliated with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) drives connected a thoroughfare successful the eastbound metropolis of Gedaref connected November 11, 2024 [AFP]

Monday’s draught solution called connected the parties to the struggle to “immediately cease hostilities and engage, successful bully faith, successful dialog to hold steps to de-escalate the struggle with the purpose of urgently agreeing a national ceasefire“.

It besides called connected them to prosecute successful dialog to hold to humanitarian pauses and to guarantee the harmless transition of civilians and the transportation of capable humanitarian aid, among different measures.

In an code to the Security Council aft the vote, Russia’s lawman ambassador to the UN said that Moscow agreed “that the struggle successful Sudan requires a swift resolution” and that “the lone mode to execute this is for the warring parties to hold to a ceasefire”.

But Dmitry Polyanskiy said that portion the Security Council’s relation is to assistance the warring parties execute that, it “should not beryllium done by imposing upon the Sudanese, done a assembly decision, the sentiment of its idiosyncratic members”.

He accused the UK and Sierra Leone of “double standards”, pointing to Britain’s enactment of Israel’s ongoing humanitarian violations successful its warfare successful Gaza, and said Lammy’s disapproval was an “excellent objection of British neo-colonialism”.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States ambassador to the UN, echoed her British counterpart, however, arsenic she slammed the Russian veto arsenic “unconscionable”.

“It is shocking that Russia has vetoed an effort to prevention lives – though perhaps, it shouldn’t be,” Thomas-Greenfield said connected Monday aft the Security Council vote. “They assertion it is due to the fact that of Sudanese sovereignty. But Sudan supports the resolution.”

The US ambassador said Russia had “obstructed and obfuscated” diplomatic efforts to code the humanitarian concern successful Sudan for months.

The UN has said that astir 25 cardinal radical – fractional of Sudan’s colonisation – request assistance arsenic famine has taken clasp successful displacement camps.

The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a struggle monitoring group, has reported that astatine slightest 20,178 radical person been killed crossed the state since the warfare began.

The decease toll whitethorn beryllium overmuch higher, however, arsenic a caller survey by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s Sudan Research Group recovered that much than 60,000 people person been killed.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies