News Article by AFP posted on September 20, 2000 at 06:35:09: EST (-5 GMT)
Sudan determined to claim UN Security Council seat
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 19 (AFP) - Sudan reiterated Tuesday its
claim to
a seat on the UN Security Council, even as the United
States made new efforts
to prevent Khartoum from taking it.
"We now look forward to play a more active role as a
non-permanent member
in the Security Council, for the period
2001-2002, for the first time in
twenty-eight years," said Sudanese
Minister of External Relations Mustapha
Osman Ismail, addressing the
UN General Assembly.
"Sudan is looking forward with confidence and optimism to obtain
support
and endorsement of all United Nations members for its
candidature," he added.
The United States has been spearheading a drive to keep Sudan
--
designated a state sponsor of terrorism by Washington --
from
succeeding Namibia as the African component of the 10
non-permanent
Security Council membership.
The two-year seat now held by Windhoek comes up in October.
But Ismail said his country had signed all international
conventions on
terrorism and reminded that Sudan's candidacy had
been endorsed by the group
of African countries at the United
Nations as well as by the Organization of
African Unity, which held
a summit in July.
The United States said Tuesday it had won wide support from the
14 member
nations of the Southern Africa Development Community
(SADC) to oppose the
candidacy of Sudan for the UN Security
Council.
"There was very strong support for Mauritius," a senior State
Department
official told reporters on condition of anonymity. "There
were quite a few
who indicated that in secret voting, they would
support Mauritius."
African countries have three non-permanent seats on the
15-members
Security Council.
The permanent veto-wielding seats are held by the United States,
Britain,
Russia, France and China.
International sanctions were imposed on Sudan in 1996 in the
wake of an
assassination attempt on Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak. But African
countries have demanded their lifting.