From The Sudan Tribune

September 7, 2015 (KHARTOUM) -The Sudanese government has announced that the foreign minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, will head its delegation to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meetings late this month in New York.

United Nations Headquarters (UN Photo)

Last Month, Sudan’s deputy UN ambassador Hassan Hamid Hassan affirmed that president Omer Hassan al-Bashir would lead Sudan’s delegation to the UN annual meeting dedicated this year to sustainable development.

Also, Bashir’s name appeared on a provisional list of speakers at the summit but several Sudanese officials said in subsequent statements that the government has yet to decide on his participation in the meeting.

A senior Sudanese diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Sudan Tribune Monday that Ghandour would head Sudan’s delegation to the summit which will convene on September 19 th. He added that the delegation will be comprised of nine members.

He said the delegation intends to bring up several issues in the UNGA meetings including the economic sanctions imposed by the United States on Sudan and maintaining its name on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism besides the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Bashir and several other Sudanese officials.

Sudan is on the US list of countries supporting terrorism since 1993 and also subjected to economic sanctions since 1997.

According to the diplomat, those issues will be discussed with several regional and international blocs and organizations within the UN including the Arab ministers, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the non-aligned countries and the Group of 77.

“Sudan will seek to mobilize support for its position regarding those issues in the UN,” he added.

The senior diplomat stressed that Africa’s foreign ministers would lead intensive moves on the sidelines of the UNGA meetings to promote the African Union (AU) decision ordering member states not to cooperate with the ICC.

The Sudanese president closely escaped being arrested and being turned over to the ICC while attending an AU summit in Johannesburg last June.

Bashir’s attendance drew widespread controversy both inside and outside South Africa given his status as an individual wanted by the ICC for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide allegedly committed in Darfur since 2003.

(ST)