Explanation of Vote by Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the United Nations Samuel Žbogar at the UNSC meeting on the Reports of the Secretary-General on Sudan and South Sudan

Thank you Mr. President.

Slovenia thanks the United States, the penholder, for their efforts in steering the renewal of the sanctions regime on Sudan and aligning the Panel of Experts’ mandate with the regime’s timetable. We welcome today’s adoption.

Slovenia voted in favor not because we see sanctions as an end in itself, but because they remain a necessary tool to support broader peace and stabilization efforts in Sudan.

The Panel of Experts has provided a body of evidence of violations of the arms embargo and of widespread violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, confirming the need for continued monitoring and the need for accountability. These violations are enabled by those who continue to supply arms in defiance of this Council decisions.

Our vote reflects just that.

We also emphasize that it remains crucial that the Panel of Experts be made fully operational as swiftly as possible, so that the 1591 Committee’s and Council’s decisions remain informed and effective.

At the same time, we are mindful that the crisis in Sudan is not confined to Darfur, as is the current sanctions regime. Violence, with patterns of instability, displacement, and human suffering extends far beyond Darfur’s borders. It is essential that the Council’s deliberations, including on sanctions, reflect this wider context.

Mr. President,

Before concluding, I must speak to the brutalities exposed in recent reports, including by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan. Over the course of this conflict, we have been made aware of atrocities across Sudan, and especially in Darfur.

The Mission has documented mass killings, torture, enforced disappearances, sexual violence, and the deliberate denial of food, water, and medical care – this can only be summarized as terror.

So today we issue a plea to all actors: enough is enough – this spiral of atrocities must end, and those who fuel, commit, or profit from it must bear responsibility for their actions and be held to account.

Thank you.

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