UN, AU express ‘deep concern’ over security in Darfur

On 2 February 2014, representatives of the AU, the Government of Sudan, UN and Unamid met in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, for the 17th meeting of the Tripartite Coordination Mechanism on Unamid. According to the official AU report on the agreed outcomes, the AU delegation was led by Ambassador Smail Chergui, Commissioner for Peace and Security. The Government of Sudan Delegation was led by Ambassador Rahmatalla Mohamed Osman, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The UN delegation was jointly led by Hervé Ladsous, Under-Secretary General for the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and Ameerah Haq, Under-Secretary General for the Department of Field Support. Joint Special Representative Mohamed Ibn Chambas led the Unamid delegation. In their opening statements, the UN and Sudanese Government delegations formally welcomed Ambassador Chergui. All participants recognised the utility of the Tripartite Coordination Mechanism to address challenges to the effective implementation of the Unamid mandate. In light of the findings of the Strategic Review of Unamid, now more than ever, the partnership between the Government and Unamid was deemed critical for Unamid to contribute fully to the achievement of a stable and peaceful Darfur. Uniformed personnel Participants discussed the current deployment of uniformed personnel to Unamid and associated clearance of Contingent Owned Equipment (COE). It was agreed that the Government of Sudan would work with Unamid at the technical level to facilitate the speedy deployment of Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) to Unamid to avoid operational gaps in Darfur. Participants also recognised that operational capacities of some TCCs and Police Contributing Countries (PCCs) are a key challenge to the effectiveness of Unamid mandate implementation, especially with regard to implementing its protection of civilians’ mandate. They welcomed the agreement reached between the Government of Sudan and Unamid at the technical level to address delays in clearances of COE. They reiterated that the export and import of COE, especially highly sensitive items, will be coordinated in advance of deployment, so that troops will not be without their COE at any time. The details of this process will be discussed and agreed at the technical level. Freedom of movement In discussion on freedom of movement, the UN and AU expressed their deep concern about the deterioration in the security situation in Darfur during 2013, owing to the tribal conflicts and the serious consequences it has had for the protection of civilians and delivery of humanitarian assistance. In order to improve the freedom of movement and in light of the difficulties encountered, the AU and UN urged the Government of Sudan to liaise with the local authorities of the five Darfur State to inform them on Government of Sudan policies to ensure full freedom of movement for Unamid. In discussion of the comprehensive review of Unamid, as called for under United Nations Security Council resolution 2113 (2013), the participants agreed on the need to take advantage of this exercise to enable Unamid to re-focus on core aspects of its mandate and to capitalise on the progress already made with the Government of Sudan through the Tripartite Coordination Mechanism. At the request of the Government of Sudan the participants agreed that the next meeting will take place in May/June 2014, in Khartoum, Sudan. File photo: Unamid head Mohamed Ibn Chambas (Albert González Farran /Unamid)