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The UN Security Council unanimously adopted two resolutions to create a mission in Sudan to support the country’s political transition and extend the stay of peace keeping force in Darfur
· The drafting of the resolution on the new United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) was a joint effort of Britain and Germany.
· The stay of the mission is for an initial period of 12 months, and it called upon Secretary General Antonio Guterres to quickly name an envoy to head the new mission.
The UN Security Council unanimously adopted two resolutions to create a mission in Sudan to support the country’s political transition and extend the stay of peace keeping force in Darfur. The drafting of the resolution on the new United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) was a joint effort of Britain and Germany. The stay of the mission is for an initial period of 12 months, and it called upon Secretary General Antonio Guterres to quickly name an envoy to head the new mission.
The rule of Omar al-Bashir, a long -time ruler came to an end in April 2019, due to months of pro-democracy protests. The dictator’s regime tried to brutally suppress the demonstrations, but in vain. Thereafter, Sudan followed a political transition trail. In August last year, a civilian-military transition authority was created to lead the transition for a period of three years.
The resolution also reviewed the mandate of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and decided that the force’s current strength should be roughly 8,000. China, Russia and several African countries had supported that plan. But European nations and non-governmental organizations feared that civilians would be left unprotected should tensions spike. UNAMID has been deployed in Darfur, in western Sudan, since 2007. The deployment varied from time to time and has reached a maximum of 16,000 peacekeepers. The brutal demonstrations had taken a toll on human lives. It is estimated that 300,000 people have lost their lives and
displaced more than 2.5 million people since 2003.
