Envoy rules out suspension of Sudan’s membership in UN

Dec 6, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — The acting Sudanese envoy to the UN, ambassador Omar Bashir, has ruled out any possible suspension of Sudan’s membership in the UN because of the USA’s draft Bill of peace in Sudan.

The US Congress discusses a draft bill calls for suspending Sudan’s membership in the U.N. and banning the sale of weapons to the Sudanese government or any other armed group in the troubled Darfur region in western Sudan.

In a telephone interview with the official SUNA news agency, the ambassador said that the Congress has the freedom to take any action that it sees necessary, however, he said, the work of the UN is controlled by its convention, and the positions of 191 UN member countries.

He further termed USA’s demands as an act of exceeding the proper bounds, adding that such positions were never unusual since the same Congress had called for Sudan’s suspension from the international committee on Human Rights two year ago, before it failed to achieve its endeavours.

(ST)