Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Monday calling for an immediate end to hostilities in Sudan where a war between two rival generals has been raging since April 2023.
A draft of the resolution prepared by Britain and Sierra Leone, which was seen by AFP, had called on both sides to “immediately cease hostilities” and begin talks on “a national ceasefire.”
“One country stood in the way of the council speaking with one voice. One country is the blocker,” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said after the vote, which showed 14 countries in favor and only Russia against.
“One country is the enemy of peace. This Russian veto is a disgrace, and it shows to the world yet again Russia’s true colors,” Lammy added.
Sudan has been ravaged by fighting between the regular army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who seized power in a 2021 coup, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by his one-time deputy, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
Before Monday’s vote, a diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity that Russia had appeared to become “visibly more aligned” with General Burhan’s camp during negotiations over the draft.
During previous votes on Sudan in the Security Council, Russia had abstained.
Sudan’s army under Burhan has accused the United Arab Emirates of providing arms to the RSF, a charge rejected by Abu Dhabi.
Civilian toll
The draft had called on member states to avoid any “external interference which foments conflict and instability” and urged all sides to respect an embargo against arms transfers to Darfur.
The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 11 million people, including 3.1 million who have fled the country, according to UN figures.
Recent weeks have seen violence flare up again, with each camp seemingly “convinced they can prevail on the battlefield,” Rosemary DiCarlo, UN under-secretary-general for political affairs, said recently.
The fighting has taken a high toll among civilians, with some 26 million people facing severe food shortages and both sides exchanging accusations of sexual violence.
Against that backdrop, the draft resolution called on both parties to “fully implement” commitments made in 2023 to protect civilians, to “halt and prevent conflict-related sexual violence,” and to allow “rapid, safe, unhindered” humanitarian access into and throughout Sudan.
The UN has been largely paralyzed in its ability to deal with conflicts from Ukraine to Gaza because of splits between permanent Security Council members, notably Russia and the United States.
Even if it had been adopted, it was unclear what effect the Sudan resolution would have produced.
A resolution in March calling for an “immediate” ceasefire during the month of Ramadan had little impact.
And a council demand in July for the RSF to end its “siege” of the city of El-Fasher, where thousands of civilians were trapped, was similarly ignored.
