UN General Assembly to formally announce South Sudan membership

PanARMENIAN.Net - South Sudan, which declared its independence last weekend, will become the 193rd member state of the United Nations this week, the UN said.

The UN Security Council also passed a resolution Monday, July 11, ending the UN Mission for the Sudan and replacing it with a new UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan.

According to the Journal of the United Nations, the Security Council's Ad Hoc Committee on Admissions was to hold a closed meeting on South Sudan's admission.

On Wednesday, the Security Council considers a resolution recommending the admission of South Sudan, accompanied by a short statement by the Security Council president, German Foreign Affairs minister Guido Westerwelle.

There will also be a debate in which the country's new president, Salva Kiir, will take part.

Thursday, the UN General Assembly will meet in the morning to formally announce South Sudan's membership, AFP reported.

According to the Security Council resolution, the 7,000 soldiers and 900 civilians from the Sudan mission will leave by the end of August and be transferred to the new UN mission to the South Sudan and to a UN force located in the disputed town of Abyei.

The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution at the end of June to send 4,200 UN soldiers from Ethiopia to Abyei.

South Sudan declared independence before tens of thousands of its citizens and numerous foreign leaders Saturday after nearly 50 years of war with Sudan and millions of deaths.

The international community, and in particular the United States, China, Russia and the European Union, were quick to recognize the world's newest country, which despite its vast oil reserves is among the poorest in the world.