| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa Horn |
| Sudan requests AU, UN agencies not to deal with UN special envoy |
| 2023-06-12 |
| [SUDANTRIBUNE] The Sudanese military-led government has made an unprecedented request to Æthiopia, the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... , and UN agencies, asking them not to engage with UN Secretary-General Special Representative to Sudan Volker Perthes. In a letter dated June 9, seen by Sudan Tribune, the Sudanese Embassy in Addis Ababa reiterated its decision to declare Volker Perthes persona non grata as of June 8, 2023. The letter said, "The Government of the Republic of Sudan requests to cease dealing with Mr Volker Perthes in his capacity as Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS)." The note was sent to the Æthiopian foreign ministry, the African Union Commission, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, and all diplomatic and consular missions in Æthiopia, including UN specialized agencies. Perhese is currently in the Æthiopian capital, where he consults with the African Union and IGAD over a roadmap to settle the Sudanese crisis and hold intra-Sudanese political talks. UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric responded to the Sudanese government’s decision regarding the UNITAMS head, highlighting that the doctrine of persona non grata does not apply to UN personnel. Dujarric referenced a statement issued by the UN Secretary-General on January 4, 2019, in response to Somalia’s declaration of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia and Head of the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), Nicholas Haysom, as persona non grata. The statement emphasized that the doctrine of persona non grata does not apply to United Nations personnel under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. "The United Nations is not a State, and its personnel are not accredited to the States where they are deployed, but work under the sole responsibility of the Secretary-General," the statement stressed, referring to Article 9 of the Vienna Convention. |
| Posted by:Fred |