From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Fri Apr 30 2010 - 09:27:11 EDT
UN Security Council (New York)
<http://allafrica.com/sudan/> Sudan: Calling on Mission to Take Lead in
Preparations for Next Year's Referendums
30 April 2010
_____
Document
The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations
Mission in the Sudan for one year, until 30 April 2011, with the intention
to renew it for further periods if required.
Unanimously adopting resolution 1919 (2010), the Council called upon all
parties to respect and abide without delay by their commitments under the
2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, agreements on Darfur and the October
2006 Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement.
Deploring the persistent localized conflict and violence, especially within
Southern Sudan, the Council underscored the importance of the United Nations
Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS) making full use of its authority and
capabilities to provide improved security to the civilian population,
humanitarian and development actors and United Nations personnel under
imminent threat of violence. It called upon UNMIS to implement a
mission-wide civilian protection strategy and tribal conflict-resolution
mechanisms. The Council urged the Mission to enhance its presence in areas
at high risk of localized conflict.
Regarding the upcoming referendums in 2011, in which the people of South
Sudan could exercise their right to self-determination on their future
status, the Council requested that UNMIS be prepared to play a lead role in
international efforts to provide assistance to support preparations for the
referendums, including an advisory role related to security arrangements.
It urged the international community to provide technical and material
assistance, including observation capacity. Recalling the parties'
responsibility under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement to pursue efforts to
make unity attractive, the Council reaffirmed the Mission's support for such
activities.
The Council requested the Secretary-General to provide in his quarterly
reports a detailed plan of measures UNMIS was taking to support the
referendums and the popular consultation processes, including lessons
learned from the 2010 elections. Information should also be provided on the
status of United Nations engagement with the parties to the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement and on the parties' progress concerning the critical tasks
to be accomplished in the post-referendum period.
The meeting started at 10:06 a.m. and was adjourned at 10:08 a.m.
Resolution
The full text of resolution 1919 (2010) reads as follows:
"The Security Council,
"Recalling all its resolutions and presidential statements concerning the
situation in the Sudan,
"Reaffirming its previous resolutions 1674 (2006) and 1894 (2009) on the
protection of civilians in armed conflict, which reaffirms, inter alia, the
relevant provisions of the United Nations World Summit outcome document,
1612 (2005) and 1882 (2009) on children in armed conflict, 1502 (2003) on
the protection of humanitarian and United Nations personnel, and 1325
(2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), and 1889 (2009) on women, peace, and
security,
"Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations
Mission in the Sudan dated 5 April 2010 (S/2010/168), and recalling the
report on Children and Armed Conflict in Sudan dated 10 February 2009
(S/2009/84), including his recommendations, and taking note of the report on
Children and Armed Conflict in the Sudan (S/2007/520) dated 29 August 2007,
and recalling the conclusions endorsed by the Security Council Working Group
on Children and Armed Conflict in the Sudan, S/AC.51/2009/5,
"Reaffirming its commitment to the sovereignty, unity, independence, and
territorial integrity of the Sudan and to the cause of peace, stability, and
security throughout the region,
"Stressing the importance of the full implementation of the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement (CPA) of 9 January 2005, including, in particular, the
importance of pursuing further efforts to make unity attractive and
respecting the right to self-determination of the people of South Sudan to
be exercised through a referendum to determine their future status,
"Emphasizing the need for the United Nations and the international community
to support consolidation of mutual trust between the two parties,
"Taking note of the nationwide elections conducted in April, as elections
are a component of CPA implementation, and commending the people in Sudan
who are working toward democracy,
"Recognizing that regardless of the results of the referendum, both parties
to the CPA will need to continue to discuss critical issues in a peaceful
and constructive manner and that the United Nations, African Union and other
regional organizations can play an important role in supporting and
promoting this dialogue,
"Commending the work of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and the
continuing commitment by troop- and police-contributing countries in support
of the CPA and this mission,
"Commending the work of the African Union in Sudan, in particular the
African Union High-Level Implementation Panel for Sudan and the role that it
has played in focusing attention on the interrelatedness of conflicts in
Sudan and assisting the Sudanese parties to comprehensively address these
issues, along with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and
other regional actors,
"Commending the continuing work of the Assessment and Evaluation Commission
(AEC),
"Condemning all acts and forms of violence perpetrated by any party that
prevent or hinder peace and stability in Sudan and the region, deploring
their effects on the civilian population, in particular on women and
children, and calling for compliance by all parties with their obligations
under international humanitarian and human rights law,
"Stressing the ongoing importance of providing humanitarian and development
assistance to the civilian populations throughout Sudan, encouraging
comprehensive preparedness efforts by the United Nations in view of the
upcoming referendum including the need for increased humanitarian and
development assistance in the south for the remainder of the CPA
implementation period as well as post-CPA and the need for continued
cooperation among the CPA parties, the United Nations and humanitarian
organizations and urging donors to support implementation of the CPA and to
honour all pledges of financial and material support,
"Acknowledging that the CPA has reached a critical stage, and stressing the
need to complete all remaining implementation tasks under the CPA,
"Welcoming increased and continuing cooperation among UNMIS and all other
United Nations missions in the region, and stressing the importance of
continued sharing of information among them to help counter regional threats
such as the activities of militias and armed groups, including but not
limited to such groups as the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA),
"Determining that the situation in the Sudan continues to constitute a
threat to international peace and security,
1. Decides to extend the mandate of UNMIS until 30 April 2011, with the
intention to renew it for further periods as may be required;
2. Requests the Secretary-General to continue reporting to the Council
every three months on UNMIS mandate implementation, CPA implementation
progress, and respect for the ceasefire;
3. Additionally requests the Secretary General to provide in his quarterly
reports information including (1) a detailed plan of measures UNMIS is
taking to support the referenda and popular consultation processes,
consistent with paragraph 6 below, including lessons learned from the 2010
elections (2) the status of United Nations engagement with the parties to
the CPA and the parties' progress concerning the critical tasks that will
need to be accomplished post-referendum and, as appropriate, information on
(3) UNMIS' planning in consultation with the parties concerning the United
Nations presence in Sudan post Interim period;
4. Deplores the persistent localized conflict and violence and its effect
on civilians, especially within Southern Sudan, and underscores the
importance of UNMIS making full use of its authority and capabilities, as
stated in paragraph 16 of resolution 1590 (2005), to take necessary action
to provide improved security to the civilian population, humanitarian and
development actors, and United Nations personnel under imminent threat of
violence, and stresses that this mandate includes the protection of
refugees, displaced persons, returnees, and other civilians with regard to
the activities of militias and armed groups, including but not limited to
such groups as the LRA, as recognized in resolution 1663 (2006);
5. Reiterates its call on UNMIS to coordinate strategies with other United
Nations missions in the region for information on the protection of
civilians in light of the attacks by the LRA and requests the Secretary
General to include in his UNMIS quarterly reports, information on
cooperation between United Nations missions in dealing with the threats of
the LRA;
6. Calls upon UNMIS to implement a mission-wide civilian protection
strategy, comprehensively throughout the mission area, including the
implementation of tribal conflict resolution mechanisms, and urges UNMIS to
enhance its presence in areas at high risk of localized conflict, including
by conducting frequent patrols;
7. Recalls the CPA's provision for referenda, as well as the parties'
responsibility to pursue efforts to make unity attractive, reaffirms UNMIS'
support for these activities, requests that UNMIS be prepared to play a lead
role in international efforts to provide assistance, as requested, to
support preparations for the referenda in 2011, including in consultation
with those member states able and willing to provide support, an advisory
role related to security arrangements for the referenda, and urges the
international community to provide technical and material assistance,
including referenda observation capacity, as requested by the relevant
Sudanese authorities to support the referenda and popular consultations;
8. Stresses the importance of full, and expeditious implementation of all
elements of the CPA, agreements on Darfur, and the October 2006 Eastern
Sudan Peace Agreement, and calls upon all parties to respect and abide by
their commitments to these agreements without delay;
9. Requests UNMIS, within its current mandate and capabilities, to
continue to assist the parties, as requested, in the implementation of all
elements of the CPA, including creation of, and appointments to, the
referenda and popular consultation commissions, implementation of the
decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague regarding Abyei,
north-south border demarcation, and wealth sharing, security arrangements,
and resolution of conflict in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states;
10. Welcomes continuing military capability reviews conducted into UNMIS'
deployment, stresses the importance of appropriate and flexible deployment
of UNMIS in order to deter and prevent violence in areas where civilians are
under threat of violence, and requests regular reviews of UNMIS deployment
to ensure that the mission is best placed to support the implementation of
the CPA and protect civilians under imminent threat of violence;
11. Welcomes the CPA parties' sustained commitment to work together and
urges their continued cooperation in carrying out their responsibilities in
further implementing the CPA and calls upon the CPA parties to cooperate
fully with all the United Nations operations in the implementation of their
mandates;
12. Reiterates its concern over the restrictions and impediments placed on
UNMIS personnel and materiel, and the adverse impact such restrictions and
impediments have on UNMIS' ability to perform its mandate effectively and in
that regard calls for all parties to cooperate by providing full and
unrestricted access to UNMIS in monitoring and verification within its area
of responsibility with special emphasis on monitoring of the Abyei region,
and urges UNMIS, consistent with its mandate and within its means and
capabilities, to consult with the parties, and to deploy sufficient
personnel to the Abyei region to improve conflict prevention efforts and
security to the civilian population;
13. Expresses its concern for the health and welfare of the civilian
populations in Sudan; calls upon the parties to the CPA and the communiqué
signed between the United Nations and the GNU in Khartoum on 28 March 2007
to support and protect all humanitarian personnel and facilitate all
humanitarian operations in the Sudan; and urges the Government of Sudan to
continue working with the United Nations to ensure continuity of
humanitarian assistance throughout Sudan;
14. Notes that conflict in one area of Sudan affects conflict in other
areas of the country, and therefore urges UNMIS, consistent with its current
mandate, to cooperate closely with all United Nations entities operating in
the region, including the AU-UN Joint Mediation Support Team and other
stakeholders, so that implementation of these bodies' mandates supports the
overall objective of peace in Sudan and the region;
15. Recognizes the detrimental impact of the proliferation of arms, in
particular small arms, on the security of civilians by fuelling armed
conflict, encourages UNMIS to continue its efforts in providing assistance
to the Government of South Sudan with regard to the civilian disarmament
process, in particular by strengthening the capacity of local authorities to
deter inter-communal conflicts and by monitoring forced civilian disarmament
initiatives in an effort to avert disarmament operations that could
exacerbate insecurity in Southern Sudan;
16. Requests UNMIS, acting within its current mandate and within its
current means and capabilities, to continue to provide technical and
logistical support to the Technical ad hoc Border Committee, as requested,
to help the parties urgently conclude the process of demarcation of the 1956
North/South border, in accordance with the CPA;
17. Encourages UNMIS, consistent with its mandate, and within authorized
levels of civilian police, to continue efforts to assist the parties to the
CPA in promoting the rule of law, restructuring the police and corrections
services throughout Sudan, particularly in the south due to lack of
development of the police services, and assisting in the training of
civilian police and corrections officers;
18. Encourages UNMIS to work closely with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)
and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) to reinvigorate the
disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) process and to assist
in voluntary disarmament and weapons collection and destruction efforts in
implementation of DDR under the CPA; and to ensure the timely provisions of
sustainable reintegration programmes, which will help to promote continued
and enhanced funding support from donors for the reintegration phase, and to
coordinate with local authorities and with the United Nations agencies
programmes and funds, initiatives that strengthen DDR with the creation of
economic opportunities for reintegrated individuals and further urges donors
to respond to calls for assistance to the DDR process, in particular the
reintegration phase, and calls on donors to honour all obligations and
pledges of assistance, and takes note in this context of the need to also
assist the victims in conflict-affected communities;
19. Welcomes the adoption of an action plan by the SPLA to release all
children still associated with its forces by the end of 2010 and in order to
achieve this goal, calls for a timely implementation of this action plan,
requests UNMIS, consistent with its mandate and in coordination with the
relevant parties and with particular emphasis on the protection, release and
reintegration with their families of children recruited to and participating
with armed forces and armed groups, to increase its support for the National
DDR Coordination Council and the Northern and Southern DDR Commissions and
to monitor the reintegration process;
20. Welcomes the continuing organized return of internally displaced
persons and refugees to the Three Areas and Southern Sudan, and requests
UNMIS, within its current mandate, capabilities and areas of deployment, to
coordinate with United Nations and other partners to facilitate sustainable
returns, including by helping to establish and maintain the necessary
security conditions;
21. Stresses the critical role of the AEC in overseeing and monitoring
implementation of the CPA; and urges all parties to cooperate fully with the
AEC and implement its recommendations;
22. Stresses the importance of achievable and realistic targets against
which the progress of UNMIS can be measured; in this regard, requests the
Secretary-General to report on and assess the progress in meeting benchmarks
in each quarterly report, as well as any consequent recommendations
regarding UNMIS' configuration;
23. Encourages the periodical update and review of the UNMIS' concept of
operations and rules of engagement, fully in line with the provisions of the
UNMIS mandate under relevant Security Council resolutions, and requests the
Secretary-General to report on progress against the concepts and rules to
the Security Council and Troop Contributing Countries in each quarterly
report, and to provide the Security Council in the same report specific
updates on the security situation in the mission's area of responsibility;
24. Requests the Secretary-General to continue the necessary measures to
ensure full compliance by UNMIS with the United Nations zero tolerance
policy on sexual exploitation and abuse and to keep the Council fully
informed, and urges troop-contributing countries to take appropriate
preventive action including predeployment awareness training, and other
action to ensure full accountability in cases of such conduct involving
their personnel;
25. Decides to remain actively seized of this matter."
Background
The Council had before it the report of the Secretary-General on the United
Nations Mission in Sudan (document S/2010/168 and Add.1), which covers
developments in that country and activities of the Mission, known as UNMIS,
during the period from 19 January to 20 March.
In the report, the Secretary-General recommends a one-year extension of the
mandate of UNMIS, until 30 April 2011, and notes that the Mission would face
key challenges with regard to the April national elections, security in the
south, capacity-building and preparation for the January 2011 referendums on
Southern secession and on the status of the disputed, oil-rich area of
Abyei.
He calls on all parties in Sudan to ensure that the national elections are
free, fair and credible, while voicing concerns about security and logistics
for those polls the first of their kind in 24 years.
[The report devotes considerable attention to the 11 to 13 April
presidential and parliamentary elections, which brought to an end the
transitional period that began when the decades-long civil war ended in
2005. On 26 April, full results were released, confirming President Omer
Hassan al-Bashir as the winner.]
A description of the Mission's provision of technical and logical support to
the Government and the National Elections Commission (NEC) during the
electoral period is outlined in the report. And, the Secretary-General
voices concern over security in both Southern Sudan and Darfur during the
electoral period, pointing to the limited capacities of the Southern Sudan
Police Service, given its level of training, the shortage of vehicles and
the lack of communications equipment.
Regarding next January's planned referendums, the Secretary-General states
that the parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement have made little
concrete progress in establishing arrangements that would be required no
matter what the outcome, although they have shown increasing political will
to address referendum-related issues.
He notes that, in February, the presidency of the Government of National
Unity issued a resolution urging the parties to that Agreement to assure the
Sudanese people that they will reach agreement on the post-referendum
arrangements, preferably before their conduct in 2011, and to mobilize
support from the international community.
The parties have not, however, agreed upon a structure, mechanism or
timetable, he says, adding that political disagreements within the
Government of National Unity have contributed to delays in the appointment
of posts in the Southern Sudan and Abyei Referendum Commissions, hampering
progress on technical preparations for the poll.
The Secretary-General stresses the importance of both effective technical
preparations for the referendum voting process and a workable agreement on
post-referendum arrangements.
With less than 10 months remaining before the referendums, delays in
addressing any of the major outstanding issues are likely to have serious
repercussions for the entire peace process, he says, adding that, in the
post-election period to come, support to establishing the conditions for
peaceful referendums and post-referendum processes will be the highest
priority of UNMIS.
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