Resolution 2524 (2020)
Adopted by the Security Council on 3 June 2020
The Security Council,
Reaffirming all its previous resolutions and presidential statements concerning the situation in Sudan,
Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, unity, independence, and territorial integrity of Sudan,
Welcoming the signing of the Constitutional Document on 17 August 2019 on the establishment of a new civilian-led transitional Government and transitional institutions, further welcoming the steps taken to date to implement the Constitutional Document and calling upon all stakeholders to remain committed to the transition in order for the aspirations of the Sudanese people for a peaceful, stable, democratic, and prosperous future to be realised, reaffirming its readiness to support Sudan in this regard and commending the vital role played by the African Union in supporting Sudan in its transition to democracy and good governance,
Welcoming the commitment in the Constitutional Document to achieve a fair and comprehensive peace in Sudan by addressing the root causes and the impact of conflict, acknowledging in this regard the progress made in the peace negotiations in Juba, noting with appreciation the role of the Government of South Sudan in supporting these negotiations, urging the parties to the conflict to engage constructively to swiftly reach a peace agreement, and further urging those who have not yet engaged in peace negotiations to do so immediately, without pre-conditions,
Welcoming the cessation of hostilities by many parties to the conflicts in Sudan, as well as their positive responses to the Secretary-General’s appeal for a global ceasefire amid the COVID-19 pandemic,
Reaffirming the primary responsibility of the Government of Sudan to protect civilians across its territory and recognising improvements in security conditions in Darfur, acknowledging in this regard the Government of Sudan’s National Plan for Civilian Protection (S/2020/429) and the weapons-collection programme, while expressing concern that the security situation in some regions of Darfur remains precarious, and underscoring the need to protect peacebuilding gains in Darfur, avoid a relapse into conflict and mitigate the risks for the population posed inter alia by threats against civilians in Darfur, inter-communal violence, human rights violations and abuses, violations of international humanitarian law and continued displacement,
Recognising the adverse effects of climate change, ecological changes and natural disasters, among other factors, on the stability of Sudan, particularly Darfur, and stressing the need for adequate risk assessment and risk management strategies by the Government of Sudan and the United Nations relating to these factors to support stabilisation and build resilience,
Welcoming the decisions of the Government of Sudan to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance and create more favourable conditions for humanitarian actors and encouraging the full implementation of these decisions in order to ensure rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access throughout Sudan, in accordance with relevant provisions of international law and in line with United Nations guiding principles of humanitarian assistance, including humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence
Stressing the need for the Government of Sudan to ensure accountability for violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and welcoming the provisions of the Constitutional Document on transitional justice and accountability measures in this regard,
Stressing the primary responsibility of the Government of Sudan to address the longstanding drivers of instability and inequality in Sudan, and to engage with other stakeholders, including civil society, women, youth, and internally displaced persons, refugees and members of marginalised communities to deliver durable solutions to Sudan’s immediate and long-term issues, including through inclusive economic growth and sustainable development, social cohesion, and disaster resilience, in line with the priorities of the Constitutional Document,
Recognizing the important role that women played in the peaceful political transition in Sudan, welcoming the steps taken to increase the role of women in public life, government institutions and decision-making processes, further welcoming the decision to criminalise female genital mutilation (FGM) in Sudan and encouraging the completion of all necessary administrative steps in this regard, acknowledging the Government of Sudan’s efforts to develop a National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, and encouraging it’s completion and full implementation, calling upon the Government of Sudan to take further steps to promote and protect women’s rights and full, equal and meaningful participation in all social, political, economic aspects of life, including by repealing all laws that discriminate against women and girls and by meeting the 40% quota for women’s participation in the Transitional Legislative Council, recognising the disproportionate impact of conflict on women and girls and calling upon on the Government of Sudan to ensure women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in peace processes, implementation of future peace agreements, conflict prevention and decision making- and reform processes related to peace and security,
Underlining the importance of integrating child protection issues in Sudan’s peace processes and calling on the parties to the conflict to integrate child protection provisions, including those relating to the release and reintegration of children formerly associated with armed forces or armed groups, as well as provisions on the rights and well-being of children, into all peace negotiations, ceasefire and peace agreements, and in provisions for ceasefire monitoring and taking into account children’s views, where possible, in these processes,
Emphasizing the importance of national ownership, inclusivity, and the role that civil society can play to advance national peacebuilding processes and objectives in order to ensure that the needs of all stakeholders are taken into account,
Expressing grave concern about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Sudan and recognising that this presents a profound challenge to Sudan’s health system, socio-economic and humanitarian situation and populations that have already been exhausted by protracted conflict, and emphasising the importance of international support – financially, technically and in-kind – to the COVID-19 response in Sudan,
Underlining the importance of the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in Sudan,
Taking note of the Special Report of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and the Secretary-General of the United Nations (S/2020/202),
Taking note of the of the African Union Peace and Security Council’s Communiqué of 3 March 2020 (PSC/PR/COMM.(CMXIII)) and 27 May 2020 (PS/PR/COMM.(CMXXVII)),
Taking note of the letter by the Government of Sudan addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations 27 February 2020 on future United Nations support to Sudan (S/2020/221),
1. Decides to establish a United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) upon the adoption of this resolution and for an initial period of 12 months;
2. Further decides that UNITAMS, as part of an integrated and unified United Nations structure, shall, in full accordance with the principles of national ownership, have the following strategic objectives:
(i) Assist the political transition, progress towards democratic governance, in the protection and promotion of human rights, and sustainable peace
a. Assist, through good offices, the Sudanese transition, including national efforts to realise the objectives of the Constitutional Document;
b. Provide technical assistance to the constitution drafting process, the population census, preparations for elections, in support of national efforts;
c. Support the implementation of the human rights, equality, accountability and rule of law provisions of the Constitutional Document, in particular those provisions that guarantee women’s rights, and future peace agreements, including through close cooperation with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Country Office in Sudan;
(ii) Support peace processes and implementation of future peace agreements
a. Provide good offices and support to the Sudanese peace negotiations, including supporting the meaningful participation of civil society, women, youth, refugees and IDPs and members of marginalised groups;
b. Provide, if so requested by the parties to the negotiations, scalable support to the implementation of any future peace agreements, including support to accountability and transitional justice, including for acts of sexual and gender-based violence, to disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR), including transitional weapons and ammunition management, and taking into account the different needs, experiences, and safety of female and male ex-combatants, including children, as well as the monitoring and verification of possible ceasefires with particular focus on Blue Nile and South Kordofan (the Two Areas) and Darfur;
(iii) Assist peacebuilding, civilian protection and rule of law, in particular in Darfur and the Two Areas
a. Support Sudanese-led peacebuilding, in particular conflict prevention, mitigation and reconciliation, community violence reduction with a particular focus on inter-communal conflict, mine action, collection of small arms and light weapons consistent with international standards, and durable solutions for IDPs and refugees, and their safe, voluntary and dignified return, reintegration and relocation with host populations as appropriate, including through integrated peacebuilding mechanisms in line with paragraph 7 of this resolution and political engagement at the local and state level;
b. Assist, advise and support the Government of Sudan’s capacity to extend state presence and inclusive civilian governance, in particular through strengthening accountable rule of law and security sector institutions and building trust between state authorities and local communities, including through community-policing initiatives, or other methods of unarmed civilian protection, and providing advisory and capacity building support for security authorities, in particular the Sudanese Police Force (SPF), including through United Nations advisers;
c. Assist, advise and support the Government of Sudan to establish a secure and stable environment within which any future peace agreement can be implemented, by providing effective support to national and local authorities on civilian protection, in particular IDPs, in the conflict-affected areas, supporting the Government of Sudan in implementing the National Plan for Civilian Protection (S/2020/429) and developing measurable benchmarks, and through deploying mobile monitoring teams, facilitating local crisis mediation, early warning mechanisms, including Women Protection networks, communications and outreach strategies with affected populations;
d. Support the strengthening of the protection of human rights, in particular in conflict affected areas, including by supporting protection for women and for children from all forms of sexual and gender-based violence and other violations and abuses, through monitoring and reporting of violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and refugee law, implementation of the Framework of Cooperation between the United Nations and the Government of Sudan on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), support to the development and implementation of action plans and a national prevention plan on violations and abuses against children, through women and child protection advisers and supporting the provision of medical, psychosocial, legal and socioeconomic services to all survivors of sexual violence;
(iv) Support the mobilisation of economic and development assistance and coordination of humanitarian assistance
a. Collaborate with the international financial institutions, to support the mobilisation of international economic and development assistance;
b. Support and facilitate, in close cooperation with humanitarian actors, full, rapid, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance and its coordination, in accordance with the relevant provisions of international law and in line with humanitarian principles;
c. Ensure effective and integrated cooperation of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes and promote cooperation with relevant partners, including the international financial institutions and donors, in carrying out, as relevant, the strategic objectives of UNITAMS, with a view to making maximum use of existing and forthcoming bilateral and multilateral assistance in Sudan, including in response to the COVID-19 pandemic;
3. Requests the Secretary-General to appoint expeditiously a Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Sudan and Head of Mission of UNITAMS, who shall assume overall authority and provide strategic direction for all activities of UNITAMS and the United Nations agencies, funds and programmes in Sudan and who shall perform a good offices, advisory and advocacy role at the political level and coordinate efforts of the international community in support of the strategic objectives of the UNITAMS mandate;
4. Decides that a Deputy Special Representative should be appointed to support the SRSG and serve as United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator and further decides that the cooperation between UNITAMS and its integrated United Nations Country Team (UNCT) partners shall be underpinned by an Integrated Strategic Framework or equivalent;
5. Requests the Secretary-General to swiftly initiate the planning for and establishment of UNITAMS, with a view to reaching full operational capacity as soon as possible and in order to ensure the mission is able to start delivering against all its strategic objectives no later than 1 January 2021, and further requests the Secretary-General to provide the Security Council, for its information, with a suggested structure and geographical deployment, within 60 days of the adoption of this resolution;
6. Requests the Secretary-General, in partnership with all relevant actors, including International Financial Institutions, to support the Government of Sudan in conducting a comprehensive assessment to define the country’s longer term conflict prevention, recovery and peacebuilding needs and in developing relevant strategies to address these needs;
7. Requests UNITAMS and its integrated UNCT partners to establish an appropriate mechanism for joint and coordinated peacebuilding support, based on lessons learned from the State Liaison Functions (SLFs) established under the mandate of UNAMID, recognising that they function as an innovative tool to deliver integrated and coordinated peacebuilding support, and further requests that these mechanisms established by UNITAMS and its integrated UNCT partners be located in Darfur, including in Jebel Marra, based on a partnership between UNITAMS and UNAMID, and also to be established by UNITAMS in the Two Areas consistent with UNITAMS’ relevant strategic objectives outlined in paragraph 2 of this resolution and the Integrated Strategic Framework;
8. Requests that UNITAMS integrates gender considerations as a cross-cutting issue throughout its mandate and assists the Government of Sudan in ensuring the full, equal and meaningful participation of women at all levels of peace and political processes, and in all social and economic aspects of life, and reaffirms the importance of gender expertise, including the deployment of gender and women protection advisors, gender analysis, including the collection and use of sex- and age-disaggregated data, and capacity-strengthening in executing the mission mandate in a gender-responsive manner, and requests the Secretary-General to include gender analysis in the reports requested in paragraph 16 of this resolution;
9. Requests UNITAMS to ensure that any support provided to non-United Nations security forces is provided in strict compliance with the Human Rights Due Diligence Policy on United Nations support to non-United Nations security forces;
10. Welcomes the commitment of the Secretary-General to enforce strictly his zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), requests the Secretary-General to continue to implement a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment, further requests the Secretary-General to take all necessary measures to ensure full compliance of all UNITAMS personnel with this policy and approach, stresses the need to prevent such exploitation and abuse and to improve how these allegations are addressed in line with resolution 2272 (2016), urges all member states who contribute uniformed personnel to take appropriate preventative action, including vetting of all personnel, pre-deployment and in-mission awareness training, and ensure full accountability in cases of such conduct involving their personnel, including timely investigations and holding perpetrators to account and further requests the Secretary-General to keep the Council fully informed about the mission’s progress in this regard;
11. Requests UNITAMS to cooperate with the Panel of Experts on the Sudan established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005) in order to facilitate the Panel’s work;
12. Urges close coordination among United Nations missions in the region, including the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), and in particular with the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), and also the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and the Special Envoy of Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure effective inter-mission cooperation;
13. Underlines that a continued strategic and political partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in Sudan remains critical, including through UNAMID, supports the African Union Peace and Security Council’s call for the Government of Sudan to urgently identify areas in which the African Union could provide additional assistance and encourages UNITAMS, UNAMID and the African Union to ensure coherence, coordination and complementarity of their support Sudan, including through a United Nations-African Union senior level coordination mechanism;
14. Requests the Secretary-General to continue transition planning and management in accordance with the established policies, directives and best practices in order to ensure that the eventual transition to UNITAMS from UNAMID is phased, sequenced and efficient, and further requests, in this regard, that UNITAMS and UNAMID establish a 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 in order to ensure close coordination and cooperation, information and analysis sharing, to maximise synergies, leverage resources and prevent the duplication of efforts;
15. Underscores that the modalities and timeline for the transition of responsibility to UNITAMS from UNAMID of responsibility for unarmed civilian protection activities, such as those outlined in strategic objective 2(iii), to UNITAMS from UNAMID will be determined by the UNITAMS-UNAMID transition coordination mechanism, as appropriate and in line with paragraph 14 of this resolution;
16. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council every 90 days on the implementation of the UNITAMS mandate and on clear and measurable core and contextual benchmarks and indicators, to be provided to the Security Council in the first 90 day report, to track UNITAMS’ progress against its strategic objectives and to enable early planning for a future reconfiguration of the United Nations presence in Sudan;
17. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.
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