United Nations, Jun 10 (IANS): The status of Volker Perthes, the UN envoy to Sudan, is currently unchanged after the Khartoum government had declared him persona non grata and asked for his replacement, a spokesperson of the world body said.
On Thursday, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry had said that the government officially notified UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that Perthes, head of the UN Integrated Transitional Assistance Mission in Sudan, "has been declared persona non grata as of today", reports Xinhua news agency
"I think what I can tell you is that the secretary-general recalls that the doctrine of persona non grata is not applicable to or in respect of UnN personnel," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres, told reporters on Friday.
"Its invocation is contrary to the obligations of states under the Charter of the United Nations, including those concerning the privileges and immunities of the United Nations and its personnel," he added.
On May 26, Guterres received a letter from Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, in which the UN chief was reportedly asked to replace Perthes.
Guterres has voiced full confidence in his special representative for Sudan.
"The Secretary-General's position (on Perthes) remains the same," said Dujarric.