After completing the UNITAMS mission… two scenarios for Article Seven in Sudan

international humanitarian law, and human rights violations and their profound effects on civilians.

"Implementing Article Seven is not easy"

Journalist Shawqi Abdel Azim believed that the decision does not mean ending the tasks of the United Nations, but rather transferring those tasks to the various United Nations agencies in light of the current circumstances, which were necessitated by the developments of the war, given that the mission’s tasks were purely political tasks, but he explains to the website "Sky News Arabia" Implementing Article Seven is not easy and requires taking many measures before moving on to it.

As for UN Ambassador Tariq Kurdi, head of the Sudanese Association working in international organizations and an expert in humanitarian and international affairs, the decision stipulating the transfer of duties "UNITAMS" To United Nations organizations means entrusting more than one organization with a mission "UNITAMS"Therefore, the Sudanese authorities must deal with more than one UN coordinator, instead of previously dealing only with the head of the mission.

He added: "Among the most important aspects of the establishment of the UNITAMS mission under Chapter VI was the gathering of the work of the various United Nations organizations under one roof and within one body, and thus it allowed the Sudanese state to deal with that body on all the different topics that concern the country. Now, after the Security Council decision, we have returned to the previous system, which is dispersed among all the different organizations".

Last October, Kurdi expected the formation of a UN mission with full powers to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sudan during the current war.

Lawyer and jurist Hatem Elias goes further than what Ambassador Kurdi did, as he believes that the decision indicates the direction of the international community to place Sudan under Title Seven again in light of the violations currently being committed by both sides of the fighting against Sudanese human rights.

Elias explains to the website "Sky News Arabia": "Terminating UNITAMS’s mandate means that things are moving towards Chapter Seven, which deals with security and military measures, which allows for the imposition of sanctions and the issuance of arrest warrants against the perpetrators of atrocities and those calling for the continuation of this war and referring them to the criminal court or even special and mixed courts.".

He points out that "Taking the decision to end the UNITAMS mission at this time means that there is progress in the Jeddah negotiations, and that the outbreak of war necessitates the presence of a new UN mission with broader tasks and characterized by the international military character necessary to maintain security and peace and separate the warring parties.".

In this context; Journalist Wael Mahjoub told the website: "Sky News Arabia" There are two scenarios that could open the door to returning to Chapter Seven. The first is the report of the fact-finding mission on violations of international humanitarian law that was approved by the General Assembly, but it indicates that this process "It is still in its early stages and its path is long and thorny".

The second scenario, according to Mahjoub, is for the African Union to take a position on what is happening in Sudan by forming forces to intervene. In this case, the Security Council will resort to supporting the Union by adopting the resolution and supporting it with forces that take on an international nature with the mandate of Chapter Seven. This is the process, which Mahjoub describes as "It does not seem realistic given the nature of the African Union’s handling of the war in Sudan".

Mahjoub warns that returning to Chapter Seven is not an easy matter. It is subject to international power equations and balances.

He explains: "It is worth recalling that the Security Council, after the outbreak of war, was unable to take decisions about what is happening in Sudan due to the Chinese and Russian veto, and the Council was content with issuing statements about the situation in Sudan.".

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While the decision was greatly welcomed by parties associated with the previous regime, which ruled the country for three decades that ended in April 2019, some observers saw that the decision opened the door to expanding the United Nations’ missions in Sudan, while others went further and believed that it might return Sudan again to Chapter Seven. After he left it at the request of the Prime Minister of the civilian government, which was overthrown by the October 25 coup; But they linked this to two different scenarios.

In fact, the resolution carried strong indications of the possibility of the Security Council moving to a more effective mechanism that differs in nature from the nature of the UNITAM mission, which was more focused on political aspects. It stipulated the UN Security Council’s commitment to the sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity of Sudan, and expressed concern about the continuation of violence, the deterioration of humanitarian conditions, especially international humanitarian law, and human rights violations and their profound effects on civilians.

“Implementing Article Seven is not easy.”

Journalist Shawqi Abdel Azim believed that the decision does not mean ending the tasks of the United Nations, but rather transferring those tasks to the various United Nations agencies in light of the current circumstances, which were necessitated by developments in the war, considering that the mission’s tasks were purely political tasks, but he explains to the “Sky News Arabia” website that Implementing Clause Seven is not easy and requires taking many measures before moving on to it.

As for UN Ambassador Tariq Kurdi, head of the Sudanese Association of International Organizations and an expert in humanitarian and international affairs, the decision that stipulates the transfer of the tasks of UNITAMS to United Nations organizations means assigning more than one organization to undertake the mission of UNITAMS, and thus requires the Sudanese authorities to deal with More than one UN coordinator, instead of previously dealing only with the head of the mission.

He added: “One of the most important things mentioned in the establishment of the UNITAMS mission under Chapter Six is ​​to bring together the work of the various United Nations organizations under one roof and within one body, and thus it allowed the Sudanese state to deal with that body on all the different topics that concern the country. Now, after Security Council resolution: We have returned to the previous regime, divided among all the different organizations.”

Last October, Kurdi expected the formation of a UN mission with full powers to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sudan during the current war.

Lawyer and jurist Hatem Elias goes further than what Ambassador Kurdi did, as he believes that the decision indicates the direction of the international community to place Sudan under Title Seven again in light of the violations currently being committed by both sides of the fighting against Sudanese human rights.

Elias explains to Sky News Arabia: “Ending UNITAMS’s mandate means that things are moving towards Chapter Seven, which deals with security and military measures, which allows for the imposition of sanctions and the issuance of arrest warrants against the perpetrators of atrocities and those calling for the continuation of this war and referring them to the criminal court or even special and mixed courts.”

He points out that “taking the decision to end the UNITAMS mission at this time means that there is progress in the Jeddah negotiations, and that the outbreak of war necessitates the presence of a new UN mission with broader tasks and characterized by the international military character necessary to maintain security and peace and separate the warring parties.”

In this context; Journalist Wael Mahjoub tells Sky News Arabia that there are two scenarios that could open the door to returning to Chapter Seven. The first is the report of the fact-finding mission on violations of international humanitarian law that was approved by the General Assembly, but he points out that this process “is still in process.” Its beginnings and its path are long and thorny.”

The second scenario, according to Mahjoub, is for the African Union to take a position on what is happening in Sudan by forming forces to intervene. In this case, the Security Council will resort to supporting the Union by adopting the resolution and supporting it with forces that take on an international nature with the mandate of Chapter Seven. This process, which Mahjoub describes as “no “It seems realistic given the nature of the African Union’s response to the war in Sudan.”

Mahjoub warns that returning to Chapter Seven is not an easy matter. It is subject to international power equations and balances.

He explains: “It is worth remembering that the Security Council, after the outbreak of war, was unable to take decisions about what is happening in Sudan due to the Chinese and Russian veto, and the Council was content with issuing statements about the situation in Sudan.”