UN Resolution Supports Sudan Efforts

Kenneth Roth, its executive director, said the council should recognize "that Darfur requires a far more gradual withdrawal" because "past and ongoing violence there means civilians can't trust Sudanese security forces alone and still look to peacekeepers for protection."

The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when ethnic Africans rebelled, accusing the Arab-dominated Sudanese government of discrimination. The government in Khartoum was accused of retaliating by arming local nomadic Arab tribes and unleashing them on civilian populations — a charge it denies.

In recent years, as the result of a successful government military campaign, the rebellion has been reduced to a rebel Sudan Liberation Army faction headed by Abdul Wahid Elnur in Jebel Marra.

There has been pressure, including from the Trump administration, to scale down the UNAMID force, which was established in 2007 and was one of the U.N.'s most expensive operations. In June 2016 it had a ceiling of 15,845 military personnel and 3,403 police.

In July 2018, the Security Council voted to dramatically cut the force in response to reduced fighting and improved security conditions.

The target then was to end the mission in June 30, 2020. But the mass street protests by a pro-democracy movement which began in late 2018 and led to last year's ouster of Al-Bashir caused a delay.

A power-sharing agreement signed in August 2019 between the military and protesters called for the government to reach a peace agreement with armed groups within six months. The military-civilian government, which is facing an economic crisis, has been engaging in peace talks with rebel groups since October, hoping to end the insurgencies in order to slash military spending, which takes up much of the national budget.

The draft resolution would authorize the new U.N. mission, if asked, to support implementation of any future peace agreements including monitoring cease-fires, and supporting disarmament, demobilization and measures promoting accountability and transitional justice, not only in Darfur but also in conflict-wracked Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

The report by Guterres and Faki said the overall security situation remained unchanged in most parts of Darfur, except West Darfur which experienced a series of violent incidents, though they reported "civil unrest" throughout the vast western region.

According to the report, UNAMID has developed "a drawdown and liquidation plan" that envisages the closure of its 14 bases between April and Oct. 31, the repatriation of military and police personnel, and a significant reduction of its civilian staff. It said this will be followed by administrative and logistical liquidation activities for a period of at least six months.

As of January, UNAMID had over 4,300 military personnel, over 2,100 international police, and about 1,500 civilian staff.

The draft resolution "underlines that a continued strategic and political partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in Sudan remains critical" and calls for close cooperation between UNPPIMS and UNAMID as well as with U.N. missions in South Sudan, Libya and in the disputed Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan.

(KR)