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 of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 8 – The first Lithuanian-language book, a ''Catechism'' (, Simple Words of Catechism), is published in Königsbe ...

(2004) and

1556 Year 1556 ( MDLVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 4 – In Japan, Saitō Yoshitatsu, the eldest son of Saitō Dōsan, arranges the murders of his two younger brot ...

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

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

if it failed to comply with its obligations on

Darfur Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. ...

, 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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, 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 Voting, 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 contrast ...

s from

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. 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 Agreement, international treaty that criminalizes genocide and obligates state parties to pursue the enforcement of ...

by establishing the international inquiry.

Resolution

Observations

Welcoming progress made towards humanitarian access, the Security Council expressed concern that the Sudanese government had not fulfilled its commitments under Resolution 1556. It praised the engagement of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union 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 African Union. The b ...

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

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and Humanitarian Logistics, logistic assistance, usually in the short-term, to people in need. Among the people in need are the homelessness, homeless, refugees, and victims of natural disasters, wars, and famines. Th ...

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, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

and

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

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

Janjaweed The Janjaweed () are an Sudanese Arabs, Arab nomad militia group operating in the Sahel, Sahel region, specifically in Sudan, particularly in Darfur and eastern Chad. They have also been speculated to be active in Yemen. According to the United ...

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 or the laws of war, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (''wikt:jus in bello, jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit ...

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; , ') 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 December 2011. The JEM supported the removal ...

(JEM) and

Sudan Liberation Movement/Army The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army ( ''Ḥarakat Taḥrīr as-Sūdān''; abbreviated SLM, SLA, or SLM/A) is a Sudanese rebel group active in Darfur, Sudan. It was founded as the Darfur Liberation FrontFlint, Julie and De Waal, Alexander (20 ...

(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, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

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. I ...

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 a ...

, 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 a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

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 (SPLM) urged to conclude a

Comprehensive Peace Agreement The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA, ), also known as the Naivasha Agreement, was an accord signed on 9 January 2005, by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Government of Sudan. The CPA was meant to end the Second Sudane ...

. In particular, the government had to end

impunity Impunity is the ability to act with exemption from punishments, losses, or other negative consequences. In the international law of human rights, impunity is failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itsel ...

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 founder a ...

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

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

, 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 is the foundational treaty of the United Nations (UN). It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the United Nations System, UN system, including its United Nations System#Six ...

, relating to restrictions against its petroleum sector and

travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical Location (geography), locations. Travel can be done by Pedestrian, foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without Baggage, luggage, a ...

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

Resolution

Observations

Acts

See also

References

External links