Security Council

6597^th Meeting (PM)

Security Council Extends Mandate of African Union-United Nations Hybrid

 

Operation in Darfur by Adopting Resolution 2003 (2011)

Expressing strong determination to support the peace process in Sudan’s troubled western region, as well as concern over worsening violence there, the Security Council today decided to extend the mandate of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) for another 12 months.

By unanimously adopting resolution 2003 (2011), the Council decided to maintain UNAMID under its current mandate and troop levels, but requested the Secretary-General to report within 180 days on a planned review, to be undertaken in consultation with the African Union, of the number of uniformed personnel required to ensure the most efficient and effective operation.

In the meantime, the Council underlined the need for UNAMID to make full use of its capabilities and prioritize the protection of civilians; safe, timely and unhindered humanitarian access; and to complement efforts to promote the peace as well as the political process negotiated in Doha, Qatar.  It demanded that all parties to the conflict, including all armed movements, immediately end the violence and make every effort to reach a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive settlement under the Doha Document.

However, it recognized that with the continued violence, important elements for the so-called Darfur-based Political Process, the part of the Doha process that calls for systematic engagement in open dialogue, were not in place.  In particular, the situation was not yet conducive for would-be participants in such a dialogue to exercise their views without fear of retribution or intimidation.

Following the adoption, the representatives of South Africa, Nigeria and Gabon expressed their continuing support for UNAMID, but also disappointment that the Council had not taken the opportunity of the mandate extension immediately to launch the Darfur-based Political Process as the African Union had requested, and had not waited for the pre-conditions of an “enabling environment” to be met.

Every effort must be made to bring about a permanent end to hostilities that would address issues of peace and justice, South Africa’s representative said, adding that delays would only cause more suffering.  Nigeria’s representative stressed that actions that could be easily implemented, such as lifting the state of emergency, should be speedily pursued.

The representatives of China and the Russian Federation also stressed the importance of the African Union’s partnership on Darfur, noting its communiqué on the need to press ahead with the Darfur-based Political Process.

On the other hand, the representatives of the United States and the United Kingdom said that today’s resolution rightly recognized that the enabling conditions for the Darfur-based Political Process did not yet exist, with the former noting that in the current situation, people speaking out were regularly targeted.  In such a situation, UNAMID had no higher duty than to protect civilians.  The United Kingdom’s representative affirmed that the Council would closely monitor the environment in Darfur in considering a launch of the process.

The meeting began at 6 p.m. and ended at 6:23 p.m.

Resolution

The full text of resolution 2003 (2011) reads as follows:

“The Security Council,

“Reaffirming all its previous resolutions and presidential statements concerning the situation in Sudan and underlining the importance of full compliance with these,

“Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity of Sudan and its determination to work with the Government of Sudan, in full respect of its sovereignty, to assist in tackling the various challenges in Sudan,

“Recalling also its previous resolutions 1674 (2006) and 1894 (2009) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, which reaffirm, inter alia, the relevant provisions of the United Nations World Summit Outcome Document; 1612 (2005) 1882 (2009), and 1998 (2011) on children and armed conflict; 1502 (2003) on the protection of humanitarian and United Nations personnel, and 1325 (2000) and associated resolutions on women, peace and security and children and armed conflict,

“Recalling its resolutions reaffirming that there can be no peace without justice, and recalling the importance that the Council attaches to ending impunity and to ensuring justice for crimes committed in Darfur,

“Bearing in mind the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 28 July 1951 and its additional protocol of 16 December 1966, along with the 1969 Convention of the Organization of African Unity governing the specific aspects of refugee problems in Africa, as well as the African Union Convention of 29 October 2009, on the Protection of and Assistance to internally displaced persons in Africa,

“Recalling the report on Children and Armed Conflict in Sudan dated 10 February 2009 (S/2009/84), including its recommendations, and recalling the conclusions endorsed by the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict in Sudan (S/AC.51/2009/5), and recalling the report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict in Sudan dated 5 July 2011 (S/2001/413),

“Expressing its strong commitment and determination to support the African Union (AU)-UN Darfur peace process hosted by the State of Qatar, and deploring the fact that some groups continue to refuse to join this process and strongly urging them to do so without further delay or preconditions,

“Welcoming the outcome of the 31 May 2011 All Darfur Stakeholders Conference (ADSC), and the signature on 14 July of the Agreement between the Government of Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) on the adoption of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) as a important step forward in the peace process, and as a basis for consultations on an impartial DPP held in the necessary enabling environment, and calling on the Government of Sudan and all the armed movements to make every effort to reach a comprehensive peace settlement on the basis of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, and to agree on a permanent ceasefire without delay,

“Welcoming the establishment of the Implementation Follow-up Committee (IFC), chaired by the State of Qatar, and Qatar’s continued engagement with the AU and the UN to support an internationally facilitated Darfur peace process, including the Government of Sudan and all the armed movements; encouraging the AU and the UN actively to pursue their efforts,

“Underlining, without prejudice to the Security Council’s primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, the importance of the partnership between the UN and the AU, consistent with Chapter VIII of the UN Charter, with regard to the maintenance of peace and security in Africa, particularly in Sudan, and welcoming, in particular, the efforts of the AU High-Level Implementation Panel for Sudan under the leadership of President Mbeki working in cooperation with UNAMID, to address in a comprehensive and inclusive manner the challenges of peace, justice and reconciliation in Darfur,

“Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General of 8 July (S/2011/422) on UNAMID,

“Stressing the need for the Council to pursue a rigorous, strategic approach to peacekeeping deployments, with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of peacekeeping missions; welcoming and further encouraging the increasingly full implementation by UNAMID of its Chapter VII mandate, and underlining, in this regard, the importance of addressing the requirement for UNAMID to be able to deter threats to the implementation of its mandate, and the safety and security of its peacekeeping personnel in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,

“Expressing deep concern at the deteriorating security situation in some parts of Darfur, including ceasefire violations, attacks by rebel groups, aerial bombardment by the Government of Sudan, inter-tribal fighting, attacks on humanitarian personnel and peacekeepers, which have restricted humanitarian access to conflict areas where vulnerable civilian populations reside, as contained in the report in the Secretary-General, and the displacement of tens of thousands of civilians, and calling on all parties to cease hostilities, including all acts of violence committed against civilians, and urgently facilitate unhindered humanitarian access,

“Expressing its concern at the return to hostilities between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan Liberation Army, Minni Minawi faction (SLA/MM), and the ongoing hostilities between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan Liberation Army, Abdul Wahid faction (SLA/AW), and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), and reiterating that there can be no military solution to the conflict in Darfur, and that an inclusive political settlement is essential to re-establishing peace,

“Reiterating its condemnation of all violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Darfur and in relation to Darfur, calling on all parties to comply with their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law, emphasizing the need to bring to justice the perpetrators of such crimes, and urging the Government of Sudan to comply with its obligations in this respect,

“Reaffirming its concern over the negative effect of the ongoing violence in Darfur on the stability of Sudan as a whole as well as the region, welcoming improved relations between Sudan and Chad, as well as the deployment of a joint force, including forces from the Central African Republic (CAR) under a joint command along the border, and encouraging Sudan, Chad and CAR to continue to co-operate in order to achieve peace and stability in Darfur and the wider region,

“Expressing concern about alleged links between armed movements in Darfur and groups outside Darfur,

“Determining that the situation in Sudan constitutes a threat to international peace and security,

“1.   Decides to extend the mandate of UNAMID as set out in resolution 1769 (2007) for a further 12 months to 31 July 2012;

“2.   Welcomes the Secretary-General’s intention to review, in consultation with the African Union, the uniformed personnel required for UNAMID to ensure the most efficient and effective implementation of the mission’s mandate, and requests the Secretary-General to report on this issue within the framework set out in paragraph 13 and no later than 180 days from the adoption of this resolution;

“3.   Underlines the need for UNAMID to make full use of its mandate and capabilities, giving priority in decisions about the use of available capacity and resources to (a) the protection of civilians across Darfur, including through proactive deployment and patrols in areas at high risk of conflict, securing IDP camps and adjacent areas, and implementation of a mission-wide early warning strategy and capacity and (b) ensuring safe, timely and unhindered humanitarian access, and the safety and security of humanitarian personnel and humanitarian activities, so as to facilitate the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout Darfur; and requests UNAMID to maximize the use of its capabilities, in cooperation with the UN Country Team and other international and non‑governmental actors, in the implementation of its mission-wide comprehensive strategy for the achievement of these objectives;

“4    Reaffirms the importance of promoting the AU-UN-led peace and political process for Darfur, and welcomes the priority given to UNAMID’s continuing efforts to support and complement this work in accordance with paragraphs 6,7 and 8 below, and welcomes the efforts of the AU High-Level Panel for Sudan in this regard;

“5.   Emphasizes UNAMID’s Chapter VII mandate, as defined in resolution 1769, to deliver its core tasks to protect civilians without prejudice to the primary responsibility of the Government of Sudan and to ensure the freedom of movement and security of UNAMID’s own personnel and humanitarian workers;

“6.   Demands that all parties to the conflict, including all armed movements engage immediately and without preconditions to make every effort to reach a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive peace settlement on the basis of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), in order to bring a stable and durable peace to the region;

“7.   Recognizes, in this context, the potential complementary role of a Darfur-based Political Process (DPP) led by the AU and the UN; calls on the Government of Sudan and the armed movements to contribute to the creation of the necessary enabling environment for a DPP that allows the systematic and sustained engagement of all Darfurian stakeholders in constructive and open dialogue; notes that, despite some positive developments in the peace process, important elements of the necessary enabling environment for a DPP, including but not limited to respect for the civil and political rights of participants, such that they can exercise their views without fear of retribution, freedom of speech and assembly to permit open consultations, freedom of movement of participants and UNAMID, proportional participation among Darfurians, freedom from harassment, arbitrary arrest, and intimidation, and freedom from interference by the Government or the armed movements, are not yet in place;

“8.   Requests the Secretary-General to include in his regular reports referred to in paragraph 13 below, assessments of the elements set out in paragraph 7 above to enable the Council, taking into account the views of the AU, to determine UNAMID’s further engagement in support of the DPP;

“9.   Welcomes the Secretary-General’s intention to develop a road map for the Darfur peace process, and requests the Secretary-General, in this regard, to work in close consultation with the AU, also consulting, as appropriate, all Sudanese stakeholders and the Implementation Follow-up Committee (IFC), and taking into account paragraphs 6, 7 and 8 above, and requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council on the road map in his next 90-day report;

“10.  Commends the contribution of troop- and police-contributing countries and donors to UNAMID; strongly condemns all attacks on UNAMID; underlines that any attack or threat of attack on UNAMID is unacceptable; demands that there be no recurrence of such attacks, stresses the need to enhance the safety and security of UNAMID personnel, as well as the need to bring an end to impunity for those who attack peacekeepers, and in this regard urges the Government of Sudan to do its utmost to bring the perpetrators of any such crimes to justice;

“11.  Commends the credible work of the Tripartite Mechanism but expresses deep concern at continuing restrictions placed upon UNAMID movement and operations, particularly to areas of recent conflict; calls on all parties in Darfur to remove all obstacles to UNAMID’s full and proper discharge of its mandate, including by ensuring its security and freedom of movement; and in this regard, demands that the Government of Sudan comply with the Status of Forces Agreement fully and without delay, particularly regarding flight and equipment clearances, the removal of all obstacles to the use of UNAMID aerial assets, and the timely provision of visas for UNAMID personnel; deplores the continued delays in the provision of such visas, which threaten seriously to undermine the ability of the mission to implement its mandate and urges the Government of Sudan to deliver on its welcome commitment to clear the backlog of visa applications; and expresses deep concern that UNAMID national staff members were detained by the Government of Sudan in violation of the Status of Forces Agreement, and demands that the Government of Sudan respect the rights of UNAMID personnel under the SOFA;

“12.  Demands that UNAMID be given a licence for its own radio transmitter in line with the provisions of the Status of Forces Agreement, so that it can communicate freely with all Darfuri stakeholders;

“13.  Requests the Secretary-General to continue reporting to the Council every 90 days on progress made towards implementing UNAMID’s mandate across Darfur, including on progress towards and obstacles to the implementation of the strategy referred to in paragraph 3 above, also including an assessment of progress against the benchmarks and indicators set out in Annex II of the report of the Secretary-General of 16 November 2009 as well, the security and humanitarian situation, including in the IDP sites and refugee camps, human rights, violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, and early recovery and all parties compliance with their international obligations;

“14.  Demands that all parties to the conflict in Darfur immediately end violence, attacks on civilians, peacekeepers and humanitarian personnel, and comply with their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law; affirms, in this context, the Council’s condemnation of serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law; calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for all parties to commit themselves to a sustained and permanent ceasefire; requests the Secretary-General to consult with relevant parties with a view to developing a more effective ceasefire monitoring mechanism; and underlines the need for UNAMID to report on major instances of violence which undermines the parties’ full and constructive efforts towards peace;

“15.  Expresses its serious concern at the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in some parts of Darfur, the continued threats to humanitarian organizations, and the restricted humanitarian access in Darfur resulting from increased insecurity, attacks against humanitarian workers, denial of access by the parties to the conflict, calls for the full implementation of the Communiqué between the Government of Sudan and the United Nations on Facilitation of Humanitarian Activities in Darfur, including regarding the timely issuance of visas and travel permits for humanitarian organizations; and demands that the Government of Sudan, all militias, armed groups and all other stakeholders ensure the full, safe and unhindered access of humanitarian organizations and relief personnel and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to populations in need and underscores the importance of upholding the principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence in the provision of humanitarian assistance;

“16.  Condemns human rights violations in, and relating to, Darfur, including arbitrary arrests and detentions, expresses deep concern about the situation of all those so detained, including civil society members and IDPs, and emphasizes the importance of ensuring UNAMID, within its current mandate, and other relevant organizations’ ability to monitor such cases; calls on the Government of Sudan fully to respect its obligations, including by fulfilling its commitment to lift the state of emergency in Darfur, releasing all political prisoners, allowing free expression and undertaking effective efforts to ensure accountability for serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, by whomsoever perpetrated, and emphasizes the importance of UNAMID acting to promote human rights, bring abuses to the attention of the authorities, and to report gross violations to the Security Council;

“17.  Notes that conflict in one area of Sudan affects other areas of Sudan and the wider region; and urges close coordination among UN missions in the region, including UNAMID, the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and requests the Secretary-General to ensure effective inter-mission cooperation;

“18.  Stresses the importance of achieving dignified and durable solutions for refugees and internally displaced persons, and of ensuring their full participation in the planning and management of these solutions, demands that all parties to the conflict in Darfur create the conditions conducive to allowing the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of refugees and internally displaced persons or their local integration; notes potentially encouraging reports of some voluntary returns of IDPs to their villages and places of origin, as indicated in the report of the Secretary-General, stresses the importance of the Joint Verification Mechanism in verifying the voluntariness of returns and expresses deep concern over some bureaucratic obstacles that undermine its effectiveness and independence;

“19.  Notes that security and freedom of movement will greatly facilitate early recovery initiatives and a return to normalcy in Darfur; stresses the importance of early recovery efforts in Darfur when such interventions are suitable, and in this respect encourages UNAMID, within its current mandate, to facilitate the work of the UN Country Team and expert agencies on early recovery and reconstruction in Darfur, inter alia through the provision of area security; calls on all parties to provide unhindered access and on the Government of Sudan to lift all access restrictions, work to resolve the root causes of the Darfur crisis and to increase investment in early recovery activity;

“20. Commends the outcome of the Darfur International Conference on water held in Khartoum on 27 and 28 June 2011 as a step towards sustainable peace, and calls on UNAMID, where consistent with its mandate, and all other UN agencies in particular UNICEF, UNDP, UNEP, as well as international actors and donors to meet their commitments made in that conference;

“21.  Expresses deep concern over the persistent localized conflicts and violence and their effect on civilians, but, in this context, notes a reduction in inter‑tribal clashes and calls on all parties to put an end to such clashes and to pursue reconciliation; expresses deep concern over the proliferation of arms, in particular small arms and light weapons, and, in this regard, requests UNAMID to continue to support local conflict resolution mechanisms, to monitor whether any arms or related material are present in Darfur in accordance with its mandate as set out in paragraph 9 of resolution 1769, and in this context, to continue to cooperate with the Panel of Experts established by resolution 1591 (2005) in order to facilitate their work;

“22.  Demands that the parties to the conflict immediately take appropriate measures to protect civilians, including women and children, from all forms of sexual violence, in line with resolution 1820 (2008); and requests UNAMID to report on sexual and gender based violence, as well as to assess progress towards the elimination of sexual and gender-based violence, and further emphasizes the need to include protection to women and children from sexual violence and gender based violence, as part of the mission-wide Protection of Civilians strategy identified in paragraph 3 above, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the relevant provisions of resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009) and 1960 (2010) are implemented by UNAMID, including the participation of women through the appointment of women protection advisers, and to include information on this in his reporting to the Council;

“23.  Requests the Secretary-General to ensure (a) continued monitoring and reporting, as part of the reports referred to in paragraph 13above, of the situation of children and (b) continued dialogue with the parties to the conflict towards the preparation of time bound action plans to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers and other violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law against children;

“24.  Requests the Secretary-General periodically to review and update the concept of operations and rules of engagement of UNAMID in line with the mission’s mandate under relevant Security Council resolutions and to report, as part of the reports referred to in paragraph 13above, on this to the Security Council and troop-contributing countries;

“25.  Decides to remain seized of the matter.”

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For information media • not an official record