Security Council to Hold Two Sessions on Monday to Discuss Developments in Sudan

Sudanhorizon – Agencies

The UN Security Council will hold two separate sessions on Monday, to discuss developments in Sudan and Ukraine, amid escalating military operations, the increasing use of drones, rising civilian casualties, and strain on infrastructure and humanitarian services.

The Council will begin its meetings with a morning session on Sudan, requested by Denmark, which holds the Council presidency for August. The session will focus on the protection of civilians and the humanitarian consequences of the conflict and is expected to be chaired by Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.

Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher are expected to brief the Council, along with a representative of civil society who will address attacks on health facilities and the disproportionate impact of the conflict on women and girls.

The session comes amid a rapidly deteriorating security situation in North Kordofan, particularly around the city of El Obeid, with the Rapid Support Forces militias and allied forces mobilizing. This coincides with repeated drone attacks targeting electricity and fuel facilities, leading to the shutdown of medical facilities and water stations.

According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 200,000 people have been displaced in the Kordofan region since late 2015. Data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicates that armed drones were responsible for approximately 80% of civilian deaths during the first half of this year.

The Council is also expected to discuss developments in Blue Nile State, where fighting has resumed around Kurmuk and Qaysan near the Ethiopian border, along with concerns about the regionalization of the conflict and the continued flow of external support to the warring parties.

On the political front, DiCarlo is expected to review regional and international mediation efforts, including the initiatives of the Quintet (comprising the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, the League of Arab States, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development), as well as efforts to launch a comprehensive Sudanese dialogue.

Council members are likely to reiterate their call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and guaranteed humanitarian access, at a time when the 2026 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan, with requirements of $2.87 billion, has received only about 41% of the necessary funding.

In an afternoon session, the Security Council will turn its attention to the situation in Ukraine, at the request of the five European members of the Council: Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, and the United Kingdom. This coincides with the anniversary of Ukraine’s declaration of independence in 1991 and the four-and-a-half-year mark since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in February 2022.

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