UN Envoy to Sudan Declared “Persona Non Grata,” No Longer Welcome in the Country

The United Nations envoy to Sudan, Volker Perthes, has been formally declared “persona non grata” by Sudanese authorities, according to a statement released by the country’s Foreign Ministry. The decision comes just weeks after the head of Sudan’s military, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, demanded that Perthes be removed from his post. Perthes has been a key mediator in Sudan’s brutal conflict since being appointed as special envoy in 2021.

The conflict, which began on Apr. 15, has been marked by a violent power struggle between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The violence has killed more than 860 civilians, according to Sudan’s Doctors’ Syndicate, with many districts of the capital city of Khartoum left without basic necessities like running water and electricity. Reports of widespread looting and sexual violence, including rape, have also emerged from the conflict.

In his letter to Perthes last month, Burhan accused the diplomat of “being partisan” and negatively contributing to pre-war talks between the generals and pro-democracy groups in the weeks building up to the conflict. Perthes, however, has denied these allegations, stating that those who threatened him were marginal “extremists” and that the UN’s efforts in Sudan have been broadly appreciated.

The decision to declare Perthes “persona non grata” comes as the diplomat was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, meeting representatives from the African Union and the eight-nation eastern Africa bloc known as IGAD. Neither the UN nor Perthes has commented on the decision.

The conflict has also had a severe impact on Sudan’s already vulnerable children. On Wednesday, 297 children were rescued from an orphanage in Khartoum after being trapped there while fighting raged outside. The evacuation came after 71 children died from hunger and illness in the facility since mid-April.

The UN has called for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, with spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric calling for “a cessation of hostilities and a return to the negotiating table to find a political solution to the crisis.” However, with the situation on the ground continuing to deteriorate, the prospects for a peaceful resolution remain uncertain.