Security Council

6304^th Meeting (AM)

Security Council Extends United Nations Presence in Sudan until 30 April 2011,

Calling on Mission to Take Lead in Preparations for Next Year’s Referendums

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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For information media • not an official record