Sudan’s scheduled address to the United Nations General Assembly was unexpectedly postponed on Thursday after the country was bypassed in the official speaking order, according to local Sudanese media.
Sudan had been scheduled to deliver its statement immediately after Liberia during the General Assembly’s high-level debate in New York.
However, once the Liberian representative concluded his remarks, the session proceeded directly to Bolivia, skipping Sudan’s designated place in the programme.
The change was among two reported exceptions to the established speaking order, with the Marshall Islands also affected. Other national representatives delivered their addresses according to the published schedule.
The reason for the change was not immediately clear, and the reports did not specify when Sudan’s postponed address would take place.
The incident comes as Sudan’s participation in this year’s General Assembly has already been complicated by a dispute over US entry visas for army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his accompanying delegation. Washington has reportedly withheld Burhan’s visa amid disagreements over a proposed ceasefire in Sudan’s ongoing war.
There was no established link between the visa dispute and the change to Sudan’s speaking slot.
