United Nations Security Council Resolution 2559 –Reports of the Secretary-General on the Sudan and South SudanLetter from the President of the Council on the voting outcome (S/2020/1276) and voting details (S/2020/1280)
Resolution 2559 (2020)
The Security Council,
Reaffirming all its previous resolutions and presidential statements concerning the situation in Sudan and underlining the importance of full compliance with and implementation of these,
Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity of Sudan and its determination to work with the Government of Sudan, in full respect of its sovereignty, to assist in tackling the various challenges in Sudan,
Reaffirming the primary responsibility of the Government of Sudan to prot ect civilians across its territory, acknowledging in this regard the Government of Sudan’s National Plan for Civilian Protection (S/2020/429) and taking note of the commitment of the Government of Sudan, as expressed in the letter of the Permanent Representative of Sudan of 21 May 2020 (S/2020/429), to assume full responsibility for the protection of its civilian citizens, to comply strictly with all internatio nal standards for the protection of civilians, including proactive monitoring and anticipation, increased army and judicial police deployment, and community protection, and to facilitate humanitarian assistance, including through full and unhindered humanitarian access and ensuring the safety and security of humanitarian personnel,
Emphasizing the need for the orderly and safe drawdown of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur’s (UNAMID) military and police components in line with United Nations best practice,
Expressing its deep appreciation for the work of UNAMID in Sudan and its overall contribution to the maintenance of peace and security in Darfur since its establishment in 2007, commending the contribution of troop- and police-contributing countries to UNAMID, and underlining the importance of the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in Sudan,
Expressing its support for a seamless transition from peacekeeping to peacebuilding in Darfur, and in this respect underscoring the importance of close collaboration between UNAMID and the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) and its integrated United Nations Country Team (UNCT) based on good practices in relation to the transition from peacekeeping operations to special political missions,
Encouraging the Secretary-General to increase swiftly the capacity of UNITAMS to provide effective assistance, within its mandate, to the Government of Sudan,
Welcoming the signing of the Juba Peace Agreement in Juba on 3 October 2020 by the Government of Sudan, the Sudan Revolutionary Front and the Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minawi, congratulating Sudan and its people for this historic achievement, which represents a significant opportunity for comprehensive and sustainable peace in Sudan and an important milestone of the transition period towards a peaceful, stable, democratic and prosperous future for Sudan, commendingthe parties to the negotiations for their political will and commitment, and also welcoming the role of the Government of South Sudan in facilitating the negotiations,
Encouraging the signatories of the peace agreement to begin swiftly the process of implementation, particularly of key provisions of the agreement perta ining to security arrangements and addressing the root causes of conflict in Darfur and the Two Areas and to ensure the full, effective and meaningful participation of women in its implementation, urging the armed movements that have forces in Libya, as documented by both the United Nations Panels of Experts for Libya and for Sudan, to withdraw them immediately, and noting that the peace agreement provides for a specific role for the United Nations in supporting the implementation of its provisions,
Urging those who have yet to join the peace process with the Government of Sudan to do so immediately, constructively and without pre-conditions in order to conclude swiftly negotiations on a comprehensive peace agreement, and calling upon all international actors to continue encouraging non-participatory parties in this regard,
Taking note of the Special Report of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and the Secretary-General of the United Nations (S/2020/1115), in particular the recommendation that UNAMID’s mandate be terminated by 31 December 2020 and the estimate that the environmental clean-up, the removal of UNAMID’s footprint and the repatriation from closed locations of staff, troops and police will take an estimated six months, subject to COVID-19 and the rainy season, and underscoring that a reasonable time will be required for the liquidation of UNAMID following its withdrawal,
Taking note of the African Union Peace and Security Council’s Communiqué of 30 November 2020 (PSC/PR/COMM. (CMLXVIII)),
Acknowledging the views expressed by the Government of Sudan regarding the future of UNAMID during the consultations between the Government of Sudan, the United Nations and the African Union in Khartoum between 22 and 25 October 2020, as documented, inter alia, in the abovementioned Special Report,
- Decides to terminate the mandate of UNAMID as of 31 December 2020;
2. Requests the Secretary-General to commence the drawdown of UNAMID personnel on 1 January 2021 and to complete the withdrawal of all uniformed and civilian UNAMID personnel by 30 June 2021, other than those required for the mission’s liquidation;
3. Decides to authorise, for the duration of UNAMID’s drawdown and liquidation, the retention of a guard unit from within UNAMID’s existing footprint to protect UNAMID’s personnel, facilities and assets;
4. Urges the Government of Sudan to fully and swiftly implement the National Plan for Civilian Protection (S/2020/429) and to protect civilians in Darfur in accordance with international human rights law and international humanitarian lawand underscores the need to build confidence of local communities in the ability of the rule of law institutions to deliver justice, ensure accountability and provide legal protection to vulnerable communities, including displaced persons, women, youth, and other marginalised groups;
5. Requests the Government of Sudan to fully respect all provisions of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) of 9 February 2008 until the departure of the final element of UNAMID from Sudan, in particular the provisions relating to the safety and security of UNAMID which inter alia stipulates that the Government of Sudan shall take all appropriate measures to ensure the safety, security and freedom of movement of UNAMID, its members and associated personnel and their property and assets, and shall take all appropriate steps to protect members of UNAMID and its associated personnel and their equipment and premises;
6. Calls upon the Government of Sudan, at all levels, to cooperate fully with the United Nations and the African Union during UNAMID’s drawdown and liquidation in order to ensure the orderly and safe withdrawal of the mission, in line with the agreed outcome of the 28th Tripartite Coordination Mechanism (TCM) meeting on UNAMID on 25 October 2020, and in particular by granting unimpeded access by the United Nations to UNAMID premises until an agreed handover, ensuring full freedom of movement of UNAMID, its personnel and its contractors as well as of their vehicles and aircrafts, unimpeded redeployment of UNAMID’s equipment, supplies and other assets within Sudan, the unimpeded export by the United Nations of its equipment, supplies and other assets, and the continued granting of visas for personnel required for the drawdown and liquidation of UNAMID, and noting that in implementing UNAMID’s drawdown and liquidation the United Nations will comply with general United Nations practices and financial regulations;
7. Requests the Secretary-General, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and the Government of Sudan, via TCM, to assess on a regular basis the progress of drawdown and withdrawal and act as a clearing-house to address any issues that might arise in this context;
8. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to continue and expedite transition planning and management in accordance with the established policies, directives and best practices in order to ensure that the transition from UNAMID to UNITAMS is phased, sequenced and efficient, and further reiterates in this regard, that UNAMID and UNITAMS should continue to closely cooperate via the established coordination mechanism to determine the modalities and timelines for the transition of responsibilities where the two missions have common strategic objectives and priorities in Darfur and to ensure close coordination and coop eration, information and analysis sharing, and to maximise synergies, leverage resources and prevent the duplication of efforts;
9. Calls on UNAMID to establish with the United Nations Country Team, as part of the UNAMID transition and drawdown process, appropriate arrangements enabling the United Nations Country Team to oversee the residual activities of programmatic cooperation which was initiated by UNAMID in 2020 but which has not yet completed implementation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure a smooth transition of peacebuilding support and support for capacity development of the Government of Sudan in Darfur;
10. Further reiterates its requests to UNAMID to ensure that team sites and assets are handed over in line with general United Nations practices and financial regulations, taking all practical steps and precautions to ensure the assets are safely transferred to the control of the designated entity, and calls upon UNAMID and the Government of Sudan to finalise swiftly a revised framework agr eement which ensures the principle of civilian end-use and the security and physical integrity of thehanded-over UNAMID team sites and assets that will not be used by UNITAMS and its integrated United Nations Country Team partners;
11. Acknowledges the Government of Sudan’s commitment, in line with United Nations rules and regulations, to use handed-over UNAMID team sites exclusively for civilian end-user purposes, and urges the Government of Sudan to ensure that UNAMID team sites previously handed-over and team sites that will be handed over in the future are utilised to this effect;
12. Further reiterates its call upon the Government of Sudan to swiftly conclude its ongoing investigations into looting of previously handed-over UNAMID team sites, and further calls upon the Government of Sudan to continue to hold accountable individuals who participated in such looting incidents;
13. Requests UNAMID, member states and the Government of Sudan to take all appropriate steps to protect the safety, security and health of all UNAMID personnel, in line with resolution 2518 (2020), including by allowing medical evacuations, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the course of UNAMID’s drawdown and withdrawal;
14. Requests the Secretary-General to keep the Security Council regularly informed about the all relevant developments in relation with the drawdown and withdrawal of UNAMID as an annex to the regular reporting requested on UNITAMS in resolution 2524 (2020), and an oral briefing by 31 July 2021 on the completion of UNAMID’s drawdown and closure;
15. Requests the Secretary-General to provide the Security Council with an assessment on lessons learned from the experience of UNAMID no later than 31 October 2021;
16. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
Adopted by the Security Council on 22 December 2020.
