United Nations Security Council Resolution 1564, adopted on 18 September 2004, after recalling resolutions 1502 (2003),

1547 Year 1547 ( MDXLVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 8 – The first Lithuanian-language book, a ''Catechism'' (, Simple Words ...

(2004) and

1556 __NOTOC__ Year 1556 ( MDLVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 16 – Charles V, having already abdicated as Holy Roman Emperor, ...

(2004), the Council threatened the imposition of sanctions against

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

if it failed to comply with its obligations on

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju ...

, and an international inquiry was established to investigate violations of human rights in the region. The resolution, sponsored by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, was adopted by 11 votes in favour to none against and four

abstention Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote (on election day) or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with ...

s from

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. The abstaining countries expressed reservations about the threat of sanctions. It was the first time a Security Council resolution had invoked the

Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG), or the Genocide Convention, is an international treaty that criminalizes genocide and obligates state parties to pursue the enforcement of its prohibition. It was ...

by establishing the international inquiry.

Resolution

Observations

Welcoming progress made towards humanitarian access, the Security Council expressed concern that the

Sudanese government Currently, the politics of Sudan takes place in the framework of a federal provisional government. Previously, a ''president'' was head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces in a ''de jure'' multi-p ...

had not fulfilled its commitments under Resolution 1556. It praised the engagement of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

in addressing the situation in the Darfur region and the lifting of restrictions on the provision of

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and v ...

by the Sudanese government. The government and rebels were urged to allow the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian relief, including across Sudan's borders with

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

and

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

. The preamble of the resolution expressed concern at the lack of progress towards the security and protection of civilians, disarming the

Janjaweed The Janjaweed ( ar, جنجويد, Janjawīd, lit=mounted gunman; also transliterated ''Janjawid'') are a Sudanese Arab militia group that operate in Sudan, particularly Darfur, and eastern Chad. Using the United Nations definition, the Janjaweed ...

and bringing those responsible for violations of human rights and

international humanitarian law International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict, is the law that regulates the conduct of war ('' jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by pr ...

to justice. It recalled the primary responsibility of the Sudanese government to protect its civilians, respect human rights and maintain law and order. At the same time, the

Justice and Equality Movement The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM; ar, حركة العدل والمساواة, ') is an opposition group in Sudan founded by Khalil Ibrahim. Gibril Ibrahim has led the group since January 2012 after the death of Khalil, his brother, in Dec ...

(JEM) and

Sudan Liberation Movement/Army The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army ( ar, حركة تحرير السودان ''Ḥarakat Taḥrīr Al-Sūdān''; abbreviated SLM, SLA, or SLM/A) is a Sudanese rebel group active in Darfur, Sudan. It was founded as the Darfur Liberation FrontFlint ...

(SLM) also had to respect human rights. It emphasised that the ultimate resolution to the crisis in Darfur was the return of

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

s and

internally displaced person An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. ...

s, with the Council expressing its determination to end the suffering of people in Darfur.

Acts

Acting under

Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter sets out the UN Security Council's powers to maintain peace. It allows the Council to "determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression" and to take military an ...

, the Council declared that the government of Sudan had not met its commitments, expressing concern at helicopter attacks and assaults by the Janjaweed

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

against villages in Darfur. It welcomed the intention of the African Union to enhance its monitoring mission in Darfur and urged all member states to support such efforts. All concerned parties were called upon to reach a political settlement under the auspicies of the African Union, with the government and

Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the army of the Republic of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 1983 and was a ...

(SPLM) urged to conclude a

Comprehensive Peace Agreement The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA, ar, اتفاقية السلام الشامل, Ittifāqiyyah al-salām al-šāmil), also known as the Naivasha Agreement, was an accord signed on January 9, 2005, by the Sudan People's Liberation Movem ...

. In particular, the government had to end

impunity Impunity is avoidance of punishment, loss, or other negative consequences for an action. In the international law of human rights, impunity is failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itself constitutes a d ...

in Darfur and bring those responsible for widespread human rights abuses to justice. The names of those arrested for such abuses had to be submitted to the

. The resolution demanded that all armed groups and rebel forces end the violence in the Darfur region, while the government was called upon to refrain from conducting military flights over the region in accordance with the April 8 Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement. Meanwhile, the Secretary-General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...

was requested to establish an international commission of inquiry to investigate violations of human rights and humanitarian law in Darfur, including

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the ...

, by all parties and to identify the perpetrators. Countries were called upon to provide generous contributions to humanitarian efforts underway in Darfur and

. Finally, the Council warned that in the event of non-compliance of the Sudanese government with demands in Resolution 1556 or the current resolution, further measures would be imposed under Article 41 of the

United Nations Charter The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the United Nations System, UN system, including its Organ ...

, relating to restrictions against its petroleum sector and

travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel c ...

of government officials. The Secretary-General, in his reports on the situation, was required to report on the progress (or lack thereof) by the Sudanese government with Security Council demands and on efforts towards a peace agreement.

References

External links

*
Text of the Resolution at undocs.org
{{UNSCR 2004 1564 2004 in Sudan 1564 September 2004 events

Resolution

Observations

Acts

See also

References

External links