PRESS RELEASE : The most effective way to protect civilians is the immediate cessation of hostilities – UK statement at the UN Security Council [November 2024]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 November 2024.

Statement by Lord Collins of Highbury, Minister for Africa and the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Sudan.

After eighteen months the conflict in Sudan has had a devastating impact on civilians.

Almost 19,000 people have been killed and 33,000 injured. These numbers, and the suffering they mask, are unacceptably high.

The UN reports that mass rape, torture, the destruction of livelihoods, ethnically-targeted killings have been perpetrated on a large scale.

I thank the Secretary-General for his recommendations on the protection of civilians, as requested by resolution 2736. The overarching message is clear – the most effective way to protect civilians is an immediate cessation of hostilities.

Efforts to secure this continue: we must offer our full support to the UN as they seek to mediate between the parties, and we call on the parties to engage in good faith with this process.

But the last eighteen months have also shown that we cannot just wait for a ceasefire.

We must act now, and these recommendations are a positive step towards more action to protect civilians. It is now for us as states, civil society and members of the UN family to consider how to use them.

To be successful, we must confront the context we face, rather than the one we would want or like to see.

I note the Secretary-General’s assessment that the conditions do not currently exist for the effective deployment of a UN force to protect civilians in Sudan.

We must keep this under review but also remember that the deployment of UN forces is only one lever amongst many.

We can all see that the warring parties have failed to uphold their commitments in the Jeddah Declaration to protect civilians and allow unfettered humanitarian access.

I urge them to establish a robust and transparent compliance mechanism to ensure their commitments bear tangible results on the ground.

They can achieve this, including with the support offered by the UN. Many civilians are suffering because of direct violence. But many more because they are starving, deliberately stopped by the warring parties from getting life-saving help.

I strongly support the Secretary-General’s recommendation that the parties agree to humanitarian pauses to allow the safe passage of civilians and facilitate the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid.

The potential closure of the Adré border crossing looms large. Its closure would mean millions more civilians would be at risk.

The crisis demands adaptable approaches.

Ordinary people have stepped up and taken unimaginable risk to protect their communities, through the Emergency Response Rooms and other mutual aid groups.

The international community must listen to the Secretary-General’s call to consider how we can further support those local efforts. And this requires warring parties to back scalable, locally-negotiated ceasefires and violence reduction measures.

I urge all member states, civil society organisations, and stakeholders to be motivated by the Secretary-General’s recommendations, to step up coordinated, international action to protect the people of Sudan.