Mr. President,
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the United Kingdom for its efforts during the negotiations and to the members of the Council for their commitment.
Switzerland voted in favour of this resolution and welcomes its adoption. Given the extremely alarming situation in Sudan and especially in El Fasher, the Council's resolution sends a strong and important message to the parties to the conflict – and in particular the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - to end the siege of the town, to cease hostilities immediately, to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, in particular to protect civilians and to guarantee humanitarian access. The continuing suffering of the Sudanese people, who are widely exposed to the imminent risk of starvation, and the enormous toll paid by civilians are unacceptable and require the attention of this Council. Both parties must put an immediate end to the war and return to the path of negotiations.
We will continue to engage in the forthcoming discussions and remain attentive to the Secretary-General's update on the implementation of today's resolution, in particular with regard to the protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian law.
Thank you.