Human Rights Council to Decide Tomorrow on Extending the Mandate of the UN Fact-Finding Mission

Geneva – Sudanhorizon – Mariam
As the 57th regular session comes to a close tomorrow (Wednesday), the corridors of the Human Rights Council are expected to witness essential deliberations and discussions regarding the draft resolution to extend the mandate of the UN fact-finding mission in Sudan.
The “Sudanhorizon” news website has learned that the Acting Foreign Minister, Ambassador Hussein Awad, has undertaken extensive movements and consultations at the ministerial level with his counterparts from the member states of the Human Rights Council in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings, in an effort to urge these countries to support Sudan’s position against extending the mandate of the UN fact-finding mission or to ensure its neutrality.
At the same time, Sudan’s permanent mission in Geneva has been actively engaging in intensive diplomatic efforts at the ambassadorial level and other diplomatic contacts through embassies in relevant capitals.
Diplomatic sources told “The Investigator” that these previous efforts supported the government’s position and its rejection of the UN mission’s report, which was filled with inaccurate information. The sources noted that, with more coordination and communication with countries close to Sudan, it would have been possible to defeat the draft resolution. They further pointed to positive moves expected to result in positions supporting the Sudanese government’s stance. However, a human rights source anticipates that the mission’s mandate will be renewed for another year, though some of its recommendations, especially those related to expanding the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to cover all of Sudan and international intervention under the pretext of protecting civilians, are likely to be rejected.