Sudan declares UN special representative Volker Perthes persona non grata

Sudan has declared Volker Perthes, the United Nations special representative and head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), as “persona non grata,” according to a statement from the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Perthes was in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, for diplomatic talks when the announcement was made.

Late last month, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed shock at a letter from Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan reportedly requesting the replacement of Perthes. The UN spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, stated that Guterres was proud of Perthes’ work and reaffirmed his full confidence in the special representative.

Perthes, who has led the Sudan mission since 2021, has defended the UN against accusations of exacerbating the conflict, asserting that responsibility lies with “the two generals at war.” Ongoing fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April has devastated Khartoum and the western region of Darfur.

Khartoum’s entire districts are without running water, electricity is scarce, and three-quarters of hospitals in combat zones are non-operational. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that over 1.4 million people have been displaced within Sudan, with an additional 476,800 fleeing to neighbouring countries.

Sudan’s health ministry has recorded at least 780 civilian deaths as a direct result of the fighting, with hundreds more killed in the city of el-Geneina in West Darfur. The UN reports that approximately 25 million people, over half of Sudan’s population, now require humanitarian assistance. Aid sufficient to help around 2.2 million people has been delivered since late May.

The fragile status of the UN in Sudan was emphasised last week when the Security Council voted to extend the UNITAMS mandate for only six months. Established in June 2020 to support Sudan’s democratic transition following the fall of ruler Omar al-Bashir, UNITAMS’s mandate had previously been renewed annually.