Sudan: Withdrawal of Uniformed Personnel at Peacekeeping Mission UNAMID - Security Council Briefing

The United Nations of Earth reporting on this issue: "Sudan: Withdrawal of Uniformed Personnel at Peacekeeping Mission UNAMID - Security Council Briefing"
The topics: The Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support told Security Council on Wednesday (27 Jul) that "recently the Secretariat achieved the initial milestone set by the Council to withdraw all uniformed personnel formerly deployed to the Mission, and staff not involved in its liquidation, except for those that have constituted a uniformed Guard Unit, as authorized by the Council, by the deadline of 30 June 2021.” The only personnel remaining will be staff involved in the liquidation and those “that have constituted a uniformed Guard Unit,” said Atul Khare as he briefed the Council members on his recent visit to Sudan and on the progress of the liquidation of the hybrid UN – AU peacekeeping mission known as UNAMID, as mandated by the Security Council itself. “This task involved the repatriation of almost 6,000 troops and police, as well as the separation of almost 1,200 staff,” said Khare. “It also involved consultation with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that uniformed members who expressed a desire to not return for reasons related to international protection needs were processed by the refugee authorities of the Government of Sudan.” He added that he is “grateful to the countries concerned in acknowledging that the status of these individuals in seeking asylum is a humanitarian act, not based on political considerations.” Following the competition of the liquidation process, the only uniformed personnel to remain in Darfur will be a Guard Unit authorized by the Security Council, comprising 360 police from former formed police units from Indonesia, Nepal and Pakistan, who will remain in El Fasher to provide internal security to remaining United Nations personnel and assets. “I should note that the primary responsibility to provide security for these United Nations assets and personnel rests with the Government of Sudan and I am pleased to report that it is prepared to take necessary actions and do so in coordination with the Guard Unit,” said Khare. Under-Secretary-General also relayed “confirmed and unconfirmed reports” suggesting varying degrees of destruction and theft at 10 of the 14 sites handed over to local authorities, which to date, “had a residual value exceeding USD 41 million.” “While the associated assets no longer belonged to the United Nations, these are major losses for the communities involved,” said Khare, noting that “although authorities have made commitments to investigate these incidents, various Sudanese interlocutors have nevertheless suggested that these events resulted from underlying tensions among groups locally, along with concerns, whether real or perceived, surrounding equitable access to the facilities and equipment that was handed over.”


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