Sudan Seeks China-led Bloc’s Support to Block UN Rights Mission Renewal

Sudan asked a 29-member coalition led by China on Wednesday to help block a draft resolution seeking to renew the mandate of the U.N. Human Rights Council’s fact-finding mission. Britain is expected to lead Western efforts during the council’s 63rd session, scheduled from Sept. 7 to Oct. 7, to extend the mission’s mandate. Sudan has repeatedly refused to cooperate with the investigators or allow them entry into the country. Sudan’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Hassan Hamid Hassan, addressed an ambassadorial meeting of the Like-Minded Group at the Palais des Nations in Geneva ahead of the session. Hassan urged member states to back Khartoum against the anticipated British draft resolution, according to the state-run SUNA news agency. … The Human Rights Council established the independent Fact-Finding Mission in October 2023 to investigate alleged human rights abuses and violations, including those committed against refugees, and has renewed its mandate annually. The mission is tasked with collecting and analyzing evidence, identifying responsible individuals and entities, and recommending accountability measures. (Sudan Tribune)