UN chief urges G20 to press for immediate ceasefire, end arms flows in Sudan

WASHINGTON

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called on G20 nations to help end the “carnage” in Sudan, urging an immediate ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian access, and an end to the flow of weapons and foreign fighters into the country.

“We need peace in Sudan,” he said in a news conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, calling for “an immediate cessation of hostilities,” “the safe, unimpeded and rapid delivery of humanitarian aid,” and “an end to the flow of weapons and fighters into Sudan by external parties.”

He stressed that both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been locked in war since April 2023, must come to the “negotiating table.”

Turning to conflict between the government in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and the M23 rebel movement, Guterres said the world needs “a lasting solution that respects the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, while addressing the root causes of instability and violence.”

Last week, the DRC and the M23 movement signed a framework peace agreement in Doha aimed at halting fighting in eastern Congo. The conflict has killed thousands of civilians and displaced hundreds of thousands this year.

The deal is part of a series of understandings reached in recent months under a mediation effort led by Qatar and supported by the US, seeking to resolve a decades-old conflict in eastern Congo that has repeatedly threatened to spill over into a wider regional war.

Guterres also warned that insecurity continues to deepen in the Sahel region of West Africa, with armed groups exploiting weak governance and tensions.

In Ukraine, he reiterated calls for “a just, sustainable and comprehensive peace” in line with the UN Charter, and added that peace in the Palestinian enclave Gaza hinges on upholding a ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, and ending violations, as well as establishing “a credible political path towards ending the occupation.”

“Everywhere — from Haiti to Yemen to Myanmar and beyond — we must choose peace anchored in international law,” he said.

WASHINGTON

He stressed that both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been locked in war since April 2023, must come to the “negotiating table.”

Guterres also warned that insecurity continues to deepen in the Sahel region of West Africa, with armed groups exploiting weak governance and tensions.

“Everywhere — from Haiti to Yemen to Myanmar and beyond — we must choose peace anchored in international law,” he said.