UN Secretary General defends phone call to Sudan president

December 7, 2009 (WASHINGTON) – The UN Secretary General office defended a phone call he made to the Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir on Sunday saying it was made “for the sole purpose of an urgent humanitarian matter”.

Sudan official news agency (SUNA) reported that Ban Ki-Moon phoned Bashir to convey to him the nomination of the Nigerian diplomat Ibrahim Gambari as head of the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

They also discussed the security and humanitarian situation ion Darfur and the fatal attack on the UNAMID peacekeepers last week.

The UN Secretary General emphasized his support to president Bashir and “unrelenting backing” to him and Sudan to push the peace efforts, SUNA said, and also thanked him for securing the release of the two aid workers kidnapped last August.

But the UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky suggested that SUNA’s report is overblown.

“The Secretary-General has made absolutely clear that this call was made purely on humanitarian grounds. You have two people, one of whom is now, as you heard really seriously ill, gravely ill. The Secretary-General wanted to make sure that all efforts are being undertaken in Sudan to try to secure the release of these two people, who are UN peacekeepers; AU-UN peacekeepers” Nesirky told reporters at the daily press briefing.

This is believed to be the first contact between the two men since Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in Darfur last March.

Last year it was reported that UN legal advisers called on Ban to distance himself from the Sudanese president in light of the arrest warrant issued for him.

Nesirky said that the advice still holds despite the phone call.

“It’s absolutely right that there is advice to keep a distance, but it is absolutely vital to underscore that this is not an ordinary conversation. This was about a humanitarian intervention, and I think you need to see it in that context” he added.

Asked about the “unrelenting backing” clause included in SUNA’s report he said “I think listen to me; not the Sudanese media”.

A Nigerian security officer and a Zimbabwean child protection officer working for the U.N./African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur were abducted by armed men on Aug. 29 in the town of Zalengi in West Darfur.

Ban’s call marked the 100th day since the kidnapping, which Khartoum has blamed on bandits seeking a ransom.

(ST)