The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held an emergency meeting on Tuesday evening to discuss the events unfolding in Sudan, and consider a joint response.
The representatives of the United Kingdom, Estonia and Norway condemned the power takeover as a ‘coup’, however the Russian representative stopped short of agreeing to the term. All delegates agreed that a stop must be put on the violence in Sudan.
Ahead of the meeting, Dame Barbara Woodward, UK permanent representatives to the UN, emphasised that “the UK condemns the coup outright.. and we are very concerned by the violence, in particular the recent reports about beatings of women and girls.” Ambassador Woodward said that the UK wants “to see the release of all those who have been detained, in particular Prime Minister Hamdok.”
Referring to the popular revolution that deposed the 30-year Omar Al-Bashir dictatorship in 2019, Ambassador Woodward said that “fundamentally, two years ago, the people of Sudan put their lives on the line for democracy, and they should not have to do so again”.
Commenting after the meeting on the possibility of a joint statement by the UNSC, Polyanskiy quipped that “it takes 15 to tango in the Security Council.”
As a permanent member of the UNSC, Russia enjoys the right of veto. When reporters asked Representative Polyanskiy what Russia, the USA, and the UK agree on, he argued that “it is too premature,” but assured that all countries are preoccupied with what is unfolding in Sudan.
