Adopted by the Peace and Security Council at its 856th meeting held on 13 June 2019,
on the activities of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and
the situation in Darfur,

The Peace and Security Council,

Recalling communiqués and press statements on the situation in Darfur, including communiqués PSC/PR/COMM.(DCV) and PSC/PR/COMM.(DCLXXIII), adopted at its 605th and 673rd meetings, held on 13 June 2016 and 29 March 2017, respectively. Council also recalls the UN Security Council resolutions 2033 (2012) of 12 January 2012, 2296 (2016) of 29 June 20162363 (2017) of – June 2017, as well as communiqués [PSC/PR/COMM.(DCCLXXVIII)] adopted at its 778th Meeting held on 11 June 2018 in which the mandate of the UNAMID was renewed for twelve months until 10 June 2019 and [PSC/PR/COMM.(DCCCXXIX)] adopted at 829th meeting held on 26 February 2019;

Noting the statements by the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Sierra Leone to the African Union, H.E. Ambassador Dr. Brima Patrick Kapuwa, in his capacity as the Chairperson of the PSC for the month of June 2019, and the Director for Peace and Security, Dr. Admore Kambudzi, as well as the briefings made by the UNAMID Joint Special Representative, Ambassador Kingsley Mamabolo on the Special Report of the Chairperson on the African Union commission and the Secretary-General of the united Nations on the Strategic Assessment of the African union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur; also noting the statements made by the Representatives of Ethiopia, in its capacity as Chair of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and South Africa in its capacity as African Member of the UN Security Council.

Acting under Article 7 of its Protocol, the Peace and Security Council:

1. Expresses its deep concern over the drastic change on security and political developments in the Sudan which has contributed to the deterioration of the security situation in Darfur and has the potential to directly impact the achievements that have been witnessed in Darfur;

2. Deplores the loss of innocent lives which took place in recent days in Zalingi, Darfur and expresses its condolences to the families of the deceased; further wishes a speedy recovery to the injured persons;

3. Expresses its deep concern over the safety of the civilians and UNAMID staff in Darfur; In this regard reaffirms the imperative for the Republic of Sudan to ensure the full protection of civilians and respect for human rights and freedoms in Sudan;

4. Rejects the Transitional Military Council (TMC) Decree Number 102 issued on 13 May 2019, which calls for the UNAMID to hand over assets to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) given that the agreement was aimed at handing over these assets to civilian institutions to assist the recovery and development of Darfur; Calls on the TMC to immediately, without conditions, rescind this decision and allow UNAMID to handover identified assets to civilian entities; Underscores the fact that UNAMID assets disposal will only be carried out in accordance with UN administrative rules and regulations, as well as relevant decisions of the UN and the AU;

5. Strongly condemns and totally rejects attacks and looting of the UNAMID and UN Agencies properties and reminds the Republic of Sudan of its primary responsibility to provide protection to both the civilian population and the UN property and calls on the Republic of Sudan to investigate and bring to account the people that carried out these crimes;

6. Commends the work done by the UNAMID Joint Special Representative and his team in implementing the PSC decisions and the UN Security Council resolutions on the continued implementation of the UNAMID mandate and the drawdown of the Mission;

7. Strongly reiterates its conviction that UNAMID exit should not create a vacuum and expose the long suffering civilian populations to renewed risks; Therefore, stresses that UNAMID should not, in any circumstances, hand over security responsibility to the RSF as decided by the TMC;

8. Takes note, with great concern of the slow progress in the negotiation on the agreements signed; In this regard, expresses its renewed support to efforts by the Sudanese to find a lasting solution to the challenges facing their country and encourages all parties to the conflict in Darfur, especially the armed movements, to recommit to the political and negotiation processes on the basis of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD); Urges those countries that are hosting the armed movements to commit to the peaceful search for a lasting solution in the Darfur region and emphasizes that such commitments, pave the way for direct negotiations;

9. Underlines that the humanitarian situation in Darfur remains a major concern, as confirmed by the recent fighting; calls on the international community to continue supporting the population in need in Darfur; Strongly urges the Republic of Sudan, the Armed Movements and the Internal Displaces Persons (IDPs), to extended cooperation to the humanitarian actors and allow them the necessary space to provide assistance to all those in need;

10. Endorses the Special Report of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the Strategic Assessment of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur of 1 June 2019 and given the unfolding situation in Sudan, decides that the drawdown and liquidation process should be carried out as follows:

i. Closure of eight (8) team sites that are no longer active, as identified in the Special Joint Report of 1 June 2019;
ii. UNAMID troops should be relocated to the remaining team sites which have been identified as security hot spots, until such a time that the situation stabilized, with a view to consolidate the remaining mission strength in order to continue protecting the civilians under threat;
iii. AU and UN, together with UNAMID should reconsider the number of civilian staff to ensure that they are commensurate with the requirement of the current mandate implementation; and
iv. AU Commission and the UN Secretariat to develop a political strategy that helps address the remaining political challenges, in consultation with the African Union High Level Panel (AUHIP), UNAMID and the UN Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa;

11. Further decides to extend, for a period of twelve (12) months, the mandate of UNAMID, in line with the recommendations contained in the Special Report of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the Strategic Review of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur; and requests the UN Security Council to do the same;

12. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

COMMENTS