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The UN Security Council on Wednesday unanimously passed aresolution giving Sudan and South Sudan 48 hours to halthostilities or face potential sanctions. With China and Russia joining the growing calls for a halt to thegrowing border conflict, the 15-member council gave emphaticbacking to African Union efforts to halt violence and get peacenegotiations started. Russia and China had opposed talk of sanctions during negotiationson the US-drafted resolution which calls on the neighbors to"immediately cease all hostilities" and withdraw troops to theirown territory. Resolution 2046 says they must give a written commitment to haltfighting within 48 hours to the African Union and the SecurityCouncil. The council ordered the two sides to start peace talks within twoweeks under the auspices of African Union mediators. The resolution threatens "additional measures" under Article 41 ofthe UN Charter -- which allows for non-military sanctions -- ifeither side fails. "The current conflict between Sudan and South Sudan is on the vergeof becoming a full scale and sustained war," US ambassador SusanRice told the council. "Both countries are on the brink of returning to the horrors of thepast and threaten to take the entire region with them," she added,referring to the civil war between the two sides before theirformal separation last year. More than two million people died in the two-decade conflict up to2005. Tensions have quickly risen since their split in July -- with noborder agreed nor an accord on how to share revenue from oilreserves which straddle the two sides. Rice said the resolution sets "tight deadlines for concreteaction." "In the history of this conflict there is a long litany of promisesmade and promises broken. So as this resolution indicates we willjudge the parties by their actions not simply their words." China, which has strong trade ties to both countries and is a keycustomer for Sudanese oil, had strongly opposed the threat ofsanctions in the resolution but eventually decided to back it. Diplomats said the African Union's strong call for potentialsanctions had forced China's hand. China normally backs efforts byregional groups to settle conflicts and could not be seen goingagainst the AU, they added. China "has been deeply worried about the recent deterioration ofrelations between the two countries," said its UN envoy Li Baodong.He called on them both to "stick to the path of peace." Li reaffirmed China's doubts about sanctions, saying that theinternational community must not impose "unbalanced pressure" onthe two countries. "We are always very cautious about the use or threat of sanctions,"while adding that China voted for the resolution "taking intoaccount" the African Union's action. South Africa, one of two African members of the council, alsoraised fears over the "escalation" between Sudan and South Sudan. "It is clear that there can be no military solution to resolvingthe outstanding issues," said South Africa's UN envoy Baso Sangqu. He said the resolution would bolster the AU effort to get the twosides away from "the logic of war". We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Japanese Cell Phone Stickers , Polish Nail Sticker for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Polish Nail Sticker.
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