Madam President, 

I thank Special Representative Volker Perthes and the representatives of AU and IGAD for their briefings. I welcome the Permanent Representative of Sudan at this meeting. 

Armed conflict in Sudan has been going on for over a month with fighting raging in many places and casualties on the rise, leading to worsening humanitarian situation. China is deeply saddened. As a good friend and good partner of Sudan, we sincerely hope that the two parties to the conflict will give priority to Sudan’s peace and the well-being of its people, stop hostilities as soon as possible, and resolve differences through dialogue and negotiation. 

China has noted that the two parties to the conflict have reached temporary ceasefire on multiple occasions and signed the Agreement on a Short-term Ceasefire and Humanitarian Arrangement in Jeddah last Saturday. The pressing task is to ensure the implementation of commitments to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure and to provide security guarantees for and facilitate humanitarian assistance and evacuation. We hope that the parties to the conflict will continue the momentum of dialogue, strive for a more durable ceasefire and political arrangement, and bring the country’s development back on track. 

China commends and supports the Arab League, AU, IGAD, and other regional organizations and relevant countries for their key role in promoting peace talks. We call on the UN and international partners to support and cooperate with regional organizations, with a view to providing the necessary time and space for regional mediation. The developments in Sudan have once again demonstrated that a solution to the question of Sudan can only be found from within the country. External interference or unilateral sanctions will not solve the problem, but will instead intensify tensions and aggravate political and social crises. The international community needs to draw a lesson. Relevant parties should seriously reflect on the current situation and refrain from expanding unilateral sanctions and thus going further down the wrong path. 

Madam President,

Since the outbreak of the conflict, the already fragile economic and humanitarian situation in Sudan and its neighboring countries has become even more worrisome. According to the data from the UN, as a result of the conflict, over 700,000 People have become IDPs. Over 200,000 people have fled to neighboring countries. And some 25 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. China commends Sudan’s neighbors for hosting a large number of Sudanese refugees despite the difficulties they themselves face, and calls on the international community to step up assistance to Sudan and its neighbors to alleviate the spillover impact on the region. China supports the UN in communicating and coordinating with Sudan and its neighboring countries on humanitarian issues, helping the regional countries with their response capacity, and easing humanitarian pressure. 

Madam President, 

The mandate of UNITAMS will expire in early June. In view of the current situation, UNITAMS will face considerable challenges in its future work. The Council’s original intention in authorizing UNITAMS  was to assist, at the request of Sudan, with its completion of political transition. Therefore, during discussion on the mandate of UNITAMS, the opinions of Sudan are fundamentally important. China encourages the penholders to stay in close touch with Sudan and fully respect its views. This is not only conducive to the smooth work of UNITAMS in the future, but also to the long-term cooperation between the UN and Sudan. 

Thank you, Madam President.