Doctrine of persona non grata not applicable to UN personnel: Spokesman

By Firdevs Bulut Kartal

TORONTO (AA) - The doctrine of persona non grata does not apply to UN personnel, said a spokesman on Friday, in response to Sudan's declaration that an envoy for the global body is not welcome.

"Secretary-General (Antonio Guterres) recalls that the doctrine of persona non grata is not applicable to or in respect of United Nations personnel," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

His remarks came a day after the Sudanese government designated the UN Special Envoy for Sudan and Head of the UN mission in Sudan, Volker Perthes, as "persona non grata".

"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," Dujarric added.

Perthes is currently in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

In a letter last month, Sudan's army General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the chairman of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council and chief of the armed forces, asked Guterres to nominate an alternative candidate to Perthes.