Delivered By: HE Mohamed Abushahab

Madam President,

I thank Executive Director Catherine Russell and Mr. Christopher Lockyear for their sobering briefings, which serve as a stark reminder of the profound suffering of the Sudanese people caused by the warring parties. We urge this Council to give serious consideration to their powerful recommendations.

For 699 days, the people of Sudan have been enduring a relentless nightmare.

699 days filled with attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure, horrific acts of sexual and gender-based violence, and unimaginable trauma scarring an entire generation.

The devastation is clear and caused by the reprehensible choices of the two warring generals who remain hellbent on continuing this war, regardless of the cost to the Sudanese people.

In such a bleak reality, we must prioritize measures aimed at safeguarding the people of Sudan through robust mechanisms for the protection of civilians and an enhanced UN presence throughout Sudan.

There are three recommendations I would like to make in this meeting:

First, the United Arab Emirates urges the Council to include conflict-related sexual violence as a stand-alone designation criterion in the sanctions regime.

The 221 verified cases of child rape reported by UNICEF, with as we just heard, 16 victims under five years old and four babies under a year old, must not go unanswered, and impunity must never be tolerated.

All perpetrators of conflict related sexual violence, in Sudan and around the world, must be held accountable. The UAE unequivocally condemns, in the strongest terms, all forms of sexual violence.

Those who have endured such horrors must have access to necessary care, including mental health and psychosocial support, and as was said by Executive Director Russell, this will be needed long after the guns are silenced.

The UAE has provided 600 million dollars of aid to Sudan since the start of the conflict. This includes funding to UNFPA to provide healthcare and support to Sudanese women and girls violated by acts of sexual violence. But far more is needed.

Second, the Council should ensure that unhindered cross-border and cross-line humanitarian aid can enter, as impediments continue to be imposed that prevent humanitarian aid from reaching those in need.

This would be a crucial lifeline for civilians, particularly women and children bearing the brunt of this war.

We should not allow the system to fail the Sudanese people. The UN must meet the dire humanitarian needs and be where the people need it most.

The UAE remains steadfast in its commitment to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe, including through the provision of aid to the people of Sudan on the basis of need, in full accordance with all humanitarian principles, and irrespective of any political considerations.

That is why last month, on the margins of the African Union summit, the UAE—alongside Ethiopia, the African Union, and IGAD—hosted a high-level humanitarian conference, which urgently called for a Ramadan truce; a call echoed by this very Council. 

A call that regrettably remains unanswered by the warring parties, but one we should all maintain.

This leads me to my third point. The Council should use all its tools to compel the warring parties to silence their guns and come to the negotiating table.

International pressure should be increased on the warring generals to reach a permanent ceasefire and return to a comprehensive political process that leads to a transitional, non-partisan, and technocratic civilian-led government, with the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women.

After 699 days, the warring parties need to finally summon the political courage to choose peace and bring this nightmare to an end, for the sake of the Sudanese people.  

Thank you, Madam President.