Sudan Urges UN to Intervene to Ensure Al-Burhan Can Address General Assembly

New York – Sudanhorizon

Sudan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Al-Harith Idris Al-Harith, called on UN Secretary-General António Guterres to intervene immediately with U.S. authorities “at the highest appropriate level” to expedite the issuance of an entry visa for Sovereignty Council Chairman Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan to participate in the UN General Assembly proceedings.

Al-Burhan is scheduled to deliver Sudan’s address to the General Assembly next Thursday.

Press reports have said that the United States has so far refrained from issuing an entry visa to the Sudanese Sovereignty Council Chairman.

In a letter sent by Sudan’s UN envoy, he confirmed that the Sudanese government had completed all required procedures for the Sovereignty Council Chairman’s participation in the high-level week.

He warned that allowing the situation to continue would effectively prevent the head of a UN member state from personally participating in the General Assembly’s proceedings.

Al-Harith cited the 1947 Headquarters Agreement between the United Nations and the United States, which prohibits U.S. authorities from placing obstacles in the way of representatives of member states accessing the organization’s headquarters, regardless of the nature of relations between their governments and Washington. The agreement also requires visas to be issued free of charge and as quickly as possible.

He also recalled General Assembly Resolution 80/172, adopted in December 2025, which expressed deep concern over repeated cases of visa denials and delays, including specifically the failure to issue a visa to a head of state to attend the General Debate.

The letter stressed that the right of member states to fully participate in the work of the organization should not be linked to bilateral political considerations.

It called for the visa to be issued to the president and members of his official delegation without any further delay.

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