New York, United States - February 17, 2025 China at the United Nations on Monday called for the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee to align with the sanctions timeline. The UN Security Council on the same day extended the mandate until March 12, 2026. Resolution 2772 (2025) was adopted by a vote of 13 in favor to none against, with China and Russia abstaining. Speaking after the vote, China's permanent representative to the United Nations Fu Cong said that the misalignment between the renewal cycles for the Panel's mandate and the relevant sanctions regime is against the common practice of the Council. The current sanctions against Darfur are set to expire in September this year. The resolution drafted by the United States seeks to extend the mandate of the Panel of Experts, originally scheduled to expire on March 12, 2025, until March of next year, clearly defies common practice. Fu said that the misalignment has existed for some time, not because of the complexity of the issue, but fundamentally a lack of political will. Shotlist: UN headquarters, New York City - Feb 17, 2025: 1. UN Security Council meeting in progress; 2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations: "The Panel of Experts is an integral part of the sanctions regime authorized by the Security Council. Its mission is to help monitor the implementation of sanctions and provide recommendations to the Council. The nature of the sanctions dictates the nature of the panel. Thus, aligning the mandate of the Panel with the timeline of the sanctions is both a logical arrangement and a common practice among the 14 ongoing sanctions regimes of the Security Council. The only exception to this practice is the sanctions regime related to Darfur, Sudan in this vote."; 3. Meeting in progress; 4. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations: "The penholders are reluctant to make efforts to seek the broadest consensus and to enhance the mechanisms and methods of the Security Council from a technical standpoint. As the Security Council addresses Sudan-related sanctions in the next phase, it is essential that this exception to be resolved. We urge the penholders to take responsibility for this."; FILE: Port Sudan, Sudan - Dec 25, 2024 5. Various of evacuation of displaced people seen from moving vehicle; 6. Various of displaced people. [Restriction - For news purpose only/No archive/Not for other production use, No access Chinese mainland/Al-Arabiya TV/Middle East Broadcasting Center]