Sudan’s military ruler, al-Burhan, accuses the German UN special envoy, Perthes, of being responsible for starting the fighting in the country. Now the government has declared him an undesirable person.
The government of Sudan has declared German UN special envoy Volker Perthes an undesirable person. “The Government of the Republic of Sudan has informed the Secretary General of the United Nations that, as of today, it has declared Mr. Volker Perthes persona non grata,” the Foreign Ministry in Khartoum said.
The military ruler, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, called for Perthes’ ouster and blamed him for starting fighting between his army and the RSF paramilitary militia in mid-April. Perthes was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Thursday for a series of diplomatic talks, the UN previously said on Twitter.
Guterres had expressed “complete confidence” in Perthes
In a letter to the United Nations, al-Burhan accused the UN representative of having “hidden” the explosive situation in Khartoum in his reports before the outbreak of fighting. Without these “lies” the rebel leader (Mohamed Hamdan) “Daglo would not have started his military actions”, argued the military ruler.
UN Secretary General António Guterres then expressed his “complete confidence” in his envoy. In early June, the UN Security Council extended the mandate of the UN mission in Sudan (Unitams), commanded by Perthes, but for just six months. Previously, the mission created in June 2020 was always extended by twelve months.
Federal government supports Perthes
After Sudan’s decision became known, the Foreign Office in Berlin expressly supported Perthes. “We definitely do not think this is the right step and we strongly condemn the statement by an undesirable person,” said a spokeswoman for Chancellor Annalena Baerbock. Since the outbreak of fighting in Sudan, Perthes has campaigned energetically and passionately for a ceasefire, protection of civilians and humanitarian access. From the point of view of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all these efforts are undermined by the decision to declare Perthes “persona non grata”.
“The international community, including the federal government, continues to support Mr. Perthes wholeheartedly,” the spokeswoman added. The UN special envoy will now continue to exercise his role in neighboring Kenya.
With input from Kai Küstner, ARD capital studio