Abstract
Resolution 2559 (2020)
Adopted by the Security Council on 22 December 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… [read more] 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 respe ct 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 transit ion 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 opport unity 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, commending
the parties to the negotiations for their political will and commi tment, 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,
1. 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 impl ement 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 law and 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 group s;
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 re gular 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 acco rdance 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 pr actices 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 the handed-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 a nd 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. [^]