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Sudan

Jan Eliasson welcomes Security Council Resolution on Darfur

On 31 August, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1706 on the Darfur region in Sudan. The Resolution announces that UMIS, the UN peace-keeping mission in Sudan, will be expanded to include some 20 000 people. The primary task of UNMIS is to support implementation of the peace agreement entered into on 5 May between the government of Sudan and parts of the rebel movement in Darfur.

"I welcome this Resolution. It will lay the basis for a vigorous international commitment to bring an end to the conflict in Darfur. The government in Khartoum has not been able to shoulder its responsibility to protect its people. I would therefore urge the government in Sudan to accept the UN initiative," says Minister for Foreign Affairs Jan Eliasson.

"We cannot tacitly accept a situation in which Darfur collapses into an even deeper spiral of violence and suffering. It is important that the Resolution can be fully implemented," says Mr Eliasson.

Sweden is heavily committed to efforts to bring the conflict in Darfur to an end and has taken part in the peace negotiations in Abuja. Sweden is also contributing military experts, police officers, medical experts and financial support to AMIS, the African Union's peace mission in Darfur, and, in addition, is reviewing the possibilities of contributing to a future UN mission.

Sweden is also participating in UNMIS, the UN mission in the southern region of Sudan, whose task is to monitor the peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the rebel movement (SPLM/A). Swedish humanitarian support to Sudan amounts to some SEK 210 million per year.