The United Nations has backed calls to expand the arms embargo currently imposed on Darfur to cover all of Sudan, as the Security Council considers a US proposal aimed at restricting the flow of weapons and drones into the country.
UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the organisation fully supports extending the embargo nationwide, warning that continued weapons supplies are helping sustain Sudan’s war.
“The Sudanese people don’t need more bombs. The Sudanese people don’t need more drones. The Sudanese people need peace,” Dujarric told The National in an interview in New York.
He acknowledged, however, that expanding the embargo faces political obstacles within the Security Council, where members remain divided over how sanctions on Sudan should be applied.
Dujarric said weapons continue to enter Sudan through several countries, including states being used as transit routes, and called for an end to the flow of arms and military drones fuelling the conflict.
The existing UN arms embargo applies only to Darfur and traces back to Security Council resolutions adopted in 2004 and 2005. It does not prohibit weapons transfers across Sudan as a whole.
Washington has proposed extending the embargo nationwide, including restrictions covering drones and related military technology.
The Security Council on September 11 adopted Resolution 2828, renewing the existing Sudan sanctions measures until October 9 and extending the mandate of the UN Panel of Experts on Sudan until November 9 while discussions over the broader proposal continue.
Russia has opposed expanding the embargo beyond Darfur, while the United States and several other countries have pushed for wider restrictions on weapons reaching the warring parties.
UN ready to investigate chemical weapons allegations
Separately, Dujarric said the United Nations would be prepared to investigate allegations that the Sudanese Armed Forces used chemical weapons during the conflict if the organisation receives a formal mandate to do so.
His comments came amid growing calls for an international investigation into reported chemical weapons use, including allegations involving chlorine-based munitions.
Dujarric stressed that the UN opposes the use of chemical weapons by any party and said allegations should be investigated through the appropriate international mechanisms.
The United States has previously accused the Sudanese military of using chemical weapons during the war and imposed sanctions over the allegations. Sudanese military authorities have rejected accusations of prohibited weapons use.
The proposed nationwide embargo has yet to be adopted by the Security Council and remains under negotiation as members debate the scope of sanctions and measures aimed at cutting the foreign weapons supplies sustaining Sudan’s war.
