Politics
Sudan, South Sudan: UN threatens sanctions – endorses African Union plan
There has been talk in both countries of trying to get rid of the other’s leaders and the resolution also condemns “actions by any armed group aimed at the forced overthrow of the government of either Sudan or South Sudan.”
South Sudan won independence from Sudan last year as part of a 2005 peace treaty that ended decades of war that killed two million people. But the neighboring countries have been drawing closer to all-out war in recent weeks over the unresolved issues of oil revenues and their disputed border, sparking alarm and condemnation from the international community.
U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said the conflict “is on the verge of becoming a full-scale and sustained war,” and warned that “both countries are on the brink of returning to the horrors of the past and taking the entire region with them.”
She welcomed the council’s “strong and unanimous” support for the AU’s roadmap for peace, saying “this is ultimately the only way that further conflict can be avoided,” and she urged both countries to immediately stop the violence.
The Security Council approved nonbinding presidential statements in March and April with support from all 15 members expressing increasing alarm at the escalating conflict between the neighboring countries.
But the resolution adopted Wednesday is legally binding and goes further, declaring that “the prevailing situation along the border between Sudan and South Sudan constitutes a serious threat to international peace and security.”
Acting under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which deals with such threats, it orders Sudan and South Sudan to immediately stop all hostilities including aerial bombings within 48 hours of the adoption of the resolution. Both countries then have to “unconditionally withdraw” all forces to their side of the border, stop harboring rebel groups, and resume negotiations under the AU within two weeks, by May 16.
