...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years...Wednesday joined calls to remove Sudan from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism after the popular revolution that overthrew the regime of Omer al-Bashir.
Guterres made his call in New York at a presser at the outset of the 74th session of the General Assembly which officially opened on Tuesday 17 September while the high-level General Debate will begin on Tuesday, 24 September 2019.
Responding to a question about the situation in Sudan, the UN chief hailed the political agreement reached last August between the army and the protesters’ coalition to form a transitional authority and to work together to bring peace into the country and achieve democratic reforms.
"Sudan is a matter of great hope for us. I believe that what was possible in the dialogue in Sudan demonstrates that all political conflicts can be solved by dialogue (...), and this should be a lesson for everywhere else in the world," he said.
"It is time now for the international community to support Sudan,"
He pointed out that the east African country is experiencing "a very dire economic situation (and) in a very dramatic economic situation".
"I hope that all the restrictions that exist about Sudan, namely, the classification as a country that supports terrorism and sanctions, will be quickly removed," he stressed.
UN officials say a high-level event on Sudan will be held on the sidelines of the 74th session of the General Assembly to mobilize international support for the country.
However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried...
Trump administration says they do not consider to cancel Sudan designation as a terror state for the time being.
But, Guterres warned that the failure of international support to the interim government may hamper its efforts to achieve the transition towards a democratic regime in Sudan
"I hope that there will be a massive mobilisation of resources to support Sudan overcome the extremely difficult economic situation that the country has, because, if that doesn’t happen, obviously, we risk that the gains in democracy, human rights
When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much...
, and political solutions that were observed could be put into question".
Related:
Antonio Guterres: 2019-09-14 UN chief selects Nigerian general to lead Syria inquiry
Antonio Guterres: 2019-09-13 'You will never break our will': Palestinians react to Netanyahu's annexation pledge
Antonio Guterres: 2019-08-24 UN's Guterres Urges World to Stamp out Religious Persecution
Antonio Guterres: 2019-09-14 UN chief selects Nigerian general to lead Syria inquiry
Antonio Guterres: 2019-09-13 'You will never break our will': Palestinians react to Netanyahu's annexation pledge
Antonio Guterres: 2019-08-24 UN's Guterres Urges World to Stamp out Religious Persecution