Explanation of Vote by the Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, Ambassador Sérgio França Danese, at the UNSC adoption session on the UNITAMS’s mandate - December 1st, 2023

Mister President,

I congratulate Ecuador and its excellent team for holding the Council presidency for this month, and China, always competent, for its November presidency. I welcome the Special Envoy and the delegation of Sudan to this meeting.

Mister President,

Brazil entered these negotiations hoping for the renewal of UNITAMS’s mandate, as we believed it could still contribute to improving the situation in Sudan. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the request made by Sudan, and the fact that the consent of the host government is essential to any United Nations mission.

We thank the United Kingdom for drafting a text that addresses the requests made by Sudan and many of the concerns shared by Council members. We thank Deputy Special Representative Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UNITAMS leadership and the mission’s personnel for their hard work in challenging circumstances. We deem it essential that Sudan’s stakeholders do their best to facilitate a safe and orderly withdrawal for the UNITAMS personnel in Sudan and a smooth conclusion for the mission’s mandate.

The concerns of both Sudan and the international community must be met as UNITAMS concludes its mandate. Brazil remains gravely concerned about the situation in Sudan. Months of conflict have caused unbearable pain to the Sudanese people, and especially to women and children. That must end at once.

We thank the British delegation for drafting a press statement that captures some of the worries shared by Council members. We regret we were not able to issue it. We underscore the value of including the main concerns from the press statement in the resolution we just adopted.

Finally, we welcome the appointment of Personal Envoy Ramtane Lamamra, a seasoned and much experienced Algerian career diplomat, a former Secretary-General and Foreign Minister of Algeria, with an extended experience in the African Union and the United Nations, and an expert on African affairs, and wish him all the best on the way forward.

We hope his engagement with the parties to the conflict leads to further constructive dialogue among their leaderships, facilitating a peaceful settlement of differences that can halt the ongoing fighting, and bring peace and hope to the Sudanese people.

Thank you