Security Council resolution 2579 (2021) [on extension of the mandate of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) until 3 June 2022]
Symbol: S/RES/2579 (2021)
Date: 2021-06-03
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/76 [205] UN INTEGRATED TRANSITION ASSISTANCE MISSION IN SUDAN
S/76 [160] SUDAN--POLITICAL CONDITIONS
S/ X Reports of the Secretary-General on the Sudan and South Sudan.
Subjects: UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan|PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS|PEACEBUILDING|SUDAN
Votes in favour: 15
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 0
Voting record:
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: ESTONIA
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: INDIA
vote: yes
country: IRELAND
vote: yes
country: KENYA
vote: yes
country: MEXICO
vote: yes
country: NIGER
vote: yes
country: NORWAY
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: yes
country: SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
vote: yes
country: TUNISIA
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes
country: VIET NAM
vote: yes

               United Nations                                                                     S/RES/2579 (2021)
               Security Council                                                 Distr.: General
                                                                                3 June 2021




               Resolution 2579 (2021)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 8784th meeting, on
               3 June 2021

                    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 steps taken to date to implement the Constitutional Document,
               including the introduction of important economic and legal reforms, calling upon the
               Government of Sudan to accelerate implementation of key provisions of the
               Constitutional Document, such as establishing the independent commissio ns and the
               swift formation of the Transitional Legislative Council, further 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, and reaffirming its readiness to support Sudan in this regard,
                     Welcoming the steps taken by the Government of Sudan to enact necessary
               macroeconomic reforms, encouraging efforts made by the international community
               to foster Sudan’s political and economic development, in particular continued efforts
               to provide debt relief to Sudan in a coordinated and equitable manner, and welcoming,
               in that regard, the international conference to support the transition in Sudan held in
               Paris on 17th May 2021,
                     Welcoming the signing of the Juba Peace Agreement (JPA) on 3 October 2020,
               noting with appreciation the role of the Government of South Sudan in facilitating
               the negotiations, welcoming the steps taken to date to implement the JPA, in particular
               the formation of the new civilian-led transitional Government and expansion of the
               Sovereign Council, urging the signatories of the JPA, with the support of the United
               Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), to ensure
               swift, full and inclusive implementation of the JPA, in particular those provisions
               pertaining to security arrangements and addressing the root causes of conflict in
               Darfur and the Two Areas, and urging the Darfuri armed movements that have forces
               in neighboring countries, as documented by both the United Nations Panels of Experts
               for Libya and for Sudan, to continue to withdraw them,
                    Welcoming the signing of the Declaration of Principles (DoP) on 28 March 2021
               by the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North




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               Al-Hilu (SPLM-N Al-Hilu), welcoming the expressed intention to continue and
               increase development and humanitarian cooperation between the SPLM -N Al Hilu
               and the Government of Sudan, as outlined in the DoP, urging the signatories of the
               DoP to engage constructively to swiftly finalise a comprehensive and inclusive peace
               agreement, and further urging those who have not yet engaged in peace negotiations
               to do so immediately, constructively and without pre-conditions,
                     Reaffirming the primary responsibility of the Government of Sudan to protect
               civilians across its territory, and urging the Government of Sudan to implement
               swiftly its National Plan for Civilian Protection ( S/2020/429), provisions of the JPA
               that will improve civilian protection, including the formation and deployment of the
               Joint Security Keeping Force and state-level protection of civilians committees, and
               the weapons-collection programme in strict compliance with international law and
               standards,
                     Recognizing improvements in security conditions in some areas of Darfur, while
               expressing concern that the security situation in other areas of Darfur has deteriorated
               as a result of increased intercommunal violence, and underscoring the need to
               intensify peacebuilding efforts 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, misuse of small arms and light weapons, human right s
               violations and abuses, violations of international humanitarian law and continued
               displacement,
                    Recognizing the adverse effects of climate change, ecological changes and
               natural disasters, among other factors, on the stability of Sudan, particularly Dar fur,
               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 and the full
               removal of undue bureaucratic processes in order to support, 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, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access throu ghout Sudan,
                     Stressing the need for the Government of Sudan to ensure accountability for
               violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human
               rights, including conflict related sexual violence and other forms of gender -based
               violence, and grave violations against children, welcoming the provisions of the
               Constitutional Document and the JPA on transitional justice and accountability
               measures in this regard, further welcoming the adoption of bills on 24 April 2021
               regarding the establishment of the Peace Commission and the Transitional Justice
               Commission, and calling on the Government of Sudan to swiftly establish these
               Commissions and implement their respective mandates, in a transparent and
               consultative manner,
                     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 disast er resilience, in line
               with the priorities of the Constitutional Document and the JPA,



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                  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 of the Cabinet of the Government of Sudan to ratify the Convention on the
           Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), encouraging
           completion of all milestones in the roadmap for implementing the new law
           criminalising female genital mutilation (FGM), further encouraging the Government
           of Sudan’s to implement swiftly and fully the National Action Plan on Women, Peace
           and Security, 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, recognizing 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, implementation of the JPA and
           the negotiation and implementation of future peace agreements, conflict prevention
           and decision-making and reform processes related to governance, peace and security,
                 Underlining the importance of integrating child protection in implementation of
           the JPA and future peace agreements, calling on the signatories of the JPA and
           non-signatory armed movements to immediately cease all grave violations against
           children and 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 fo r ceasefire
           monitoring and taking into account children’s views, where possible, in these
           processes, and reiterating the Conclusions of the Security Council Working Group on
           Children and Armed Conflict (S/AC.51/2020/7),
                 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 accoun t, and
           encouraging, in this regard, the Government of Sudan, with the support of UNITAMS,
           to promote effective engagement with civil society,
                 Expressing grave concern about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
           Sudan and recognizing 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 emphasizing 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,
                Recalling resolution 2559 (2020) which terminated the mandate of the African
           Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), recognizing the
           progress made to date with UNAMID’s drawdown, welcoming the Government of
           Sudan’s willingness to cooperate fully with the United Nation and African Union
           during UNAMID’s drawdown and liquidation, encouraging the Government of
           Sudan, at all levels, to ensure full freedom of movement of UNAMID, its personnel
           and its contractors as well as of their vehicles and aircrafts, and urging the
           Government of Sudan to ensure that handed over UNAMID team sites are utilised
           exclusively for civilian end-user purposes,
                 Taking note of the Report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the
           situation in Sudan and the activities of UNITAMS (S/2021/470),


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                   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 extend the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Transition
               Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) until 3 June 2022;
                     2.   Requests the Government of Sudan to sign swiftly the UNITAMS Status
               of Mission Agreement (SOMA) with the United Nations, in order to enable the full,
               effective and unhindered functioning of UNITAMS;
                    3.    Decides that UNITAMS, as part of an integrated and unified United
               Nations structure, shall, in full accordance with the principles of national ownership,
               continue to 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 and the
                    timelines it sets for the transition;
                          b.   Provide technical assistance to the constitution drafting process, the
                    establishment and functioning of the Transitional Legislative Council, 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 the Juba Peace
                           Agreement and future peace agreements
                         a.    Provide good offices and support to ongoing and future peace
                    negotiations between the Government of Sudan and Sudanese armed groups,
                    including supporting the meaningful participation of civil society, women,
                    youth, refugees and IDPs and members of marginalised groups;
                          b.    Provide scalable support to the implementation of the JPA, as
                    clarified by the parties to the JPA, and any future peace agreements, including
                    support to ceasefire arrangements and monitoring mechanisms as set out in
                    Title 2, Chapter 8 of the JPA, to the power-sharing provisions of the JPA, the
                    provisions of the JPA concerning land ownership and usage, accountability and
                    transitional justice, in particular the provisions of Chapter 3 of the JPA, and
                    including for acts of sexual and gender-based violence, to disarmament,
                    demobilisation and reintegration (DDR), safe and effective management,
                    storage and security of weapons and ammunition stockpiles, and taking into
                    account the different needs, experiences, and safety of female and male
                    ex-combatants, including children;

                    (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 violence, mine action, collection of small


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           arms and light weapons consistent with international standards, 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 10 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 through expanded support Sudanese Police Force
           (SPF), and the Joint Security-Keeping Force envisaged in the JPA, including
           through United Nations advisers and working in close cooperation with the
           United Nations Country Team, including through joint programming;
                 c.   Assist, advise and support the Government of Sudan to establish a
           secure and stable environment within which the JPA and future peace
           agreements 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, emphasising transparency and inclusive procedures, 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 respect, promotion and 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
           refugee law and violations and abuses of human rights, urgent 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 and peacebuilding assistance
                 a.   Support coordination with international financial institutions (IFIs)
           and donors to optimise collectively UN, IFIs and donor resources in support of
           the Government of Sudan’s national priorities, including the mobilisation of
           international economic and development assistance;
                 b.    Support, in accordance with the relevant provisions of international
           law and in line with humanitarian principles, and in close cooperation with
           humanitarian actors, full, rapid, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian
           assistance;
               c.    Support the coordination of humanitarian assistance, including the
           Government of Sudan’s facilitation efforts, and through the mobilisation of
           humanitarian financing;


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                          d.    Ensure mobilisation and effective and integrated cooperation of
                    United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, and promot e cooperation with
                    relevant partners, including the IFIs and donors, in carrying out, as relevant, the
                    strategic objectives of UNITAMS;
                    4.    Further decides that, in line with its strategic objectives and support to the
               Government of Sudan’s national priorities, UNITAMS should prioritise support to the
               following areas during this mandate period:
                    i.   Ceasefire monitoring in Darfur, in line with the role envisaged for the
                    United Nations in the JPA;
                    ii.   Implementation of the Government of Sudan’s National Plan for Civilian
                    Protection (S/2020/429), including local conflict prevention, mitigation and
                    reconciliation efforts, disarmament, and community violence reduction with a
                    particular focus on inter-communal violence;
                    iii. Ongoing and future peace negotiations between the Government of Sudan
                    and Sudanese armed groups, including through technical, administrative and
                    logistical assistance, in coordination with other partners;
                    iv. Inclusive implementation of the power sharing provisions of the JPA,
                    including through facilitating the participation of civil society, women, youth,
                    and internally displaced persons, refugees and members of marginalised
                    communities;
                    v.    The Constitution drafting process, including facilitating the engagement
                    of civil society, and providing technical and logistical support to the
                    establishment of the Constitutional Commission and the holding of the
                    Constitutional Conference;
                    vi. The SPF and justice sector, through advisory and capacity building
                    support, with the objective of enhancing civilian-led protection, security, and
                    the rule of law;
                    5.     Requests the Secretary-General to increase swiftly the deployment of
               personnel to UNITAMS, in order for the Mission to provide effective assistance,
               within its mandate, to the Government of Sudan;
                     6.   Reiterates that the cooperation between UNITAMS and its integrated
               United Nations Country Team (UNCT) partners shall be underpinned by an Integrated
               Strategic Framework (ISF) or equivalent, and requests UNITAMS and its integrated
               UNCT to establish an ISF or equivalent within 60 days of adoption of this resolution;
                     7.    Takes note of the benchmarks and indicators outlined in Annex 1 of the
               Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Sudan and the activities of
               UNITAMS (S/2021/470) to track UNITAMS progress against its strategic objectives,
               welcomes UNITAMS intention to work with the UNCT and the Government of Sudan
               to establish a baseline and targets for the benchmarks, as well as establishing a robust
               monitoring and data collection mechanism to track progress against the benchmarks,
               encourages UNITAMS, in this regard, to also ensure effective engagement with civil
               society, and requests UNITAMS, in consultation with the UNCT and the Government
               of Sudan, to identify qualitative indicators to complement the existing indicators that
               are quantitative in nature;
                    8.   Welcomes the positive dialogue established between UNITAMS and
               Sudanese authorities, including the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Justice,
               in coordination with the Executive Committee for coordination with UNITAMS,
               regarding capacity building to strengthen the protection of civilians, and, in this



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           regard, requests the Secretary-General to facilitate the deployment of additional
           individual police officers (IPOs) to UNITAMS;
                9.    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;
                 10. Requests UNITAMS and its integrated UNCT partners to finalise the
           Sudan Peacemaking, Peacebuilding and Stabilisation Programme (SPPSP) and ensure
           implementation is sequenced and prioritised, in line with paragraph 3 of this
           resolution, and is reflective of available resources and personnel at each stage of
           implementation;
                 11. Encourages the Government of Sudan, without prejudice to the mandate
           of UNITAMS, to engage with the UN Peacebuilding Commission to help bolster
           international support for Sudan’s peacebuilding process and further inform the
           Council’s consideration of the situation;
                 12. Requests that UNITAMS integrates gender considerations as a crosscutting 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 agedisaggregated 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 19 of this resolution;
                 13. Requests the Secretary-General to include information and related
           recommendations on progress made towards participation of youth in impleme ntation
           of the JPA in the reports requested in paragraph 19 of this resolution;
                14. 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;
                 15. 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 v etting 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;
                 16. 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;
                17. Urges close coordination among United Nations missions in the region,
           including 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

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               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;
                     18. Encourages the Government of Sudan to cooperate closely with the
               African Union on issues of regional peace and security, underlines that a continued
               strategic and political partnership between the United Nations and the African Union
               in Sudan remains critical, encourages UNITAMS and the African Union to ensure
               coherence, coordination and complementarity of their support to Sudan, including
               through a United Nations-African Union senior level coordination mechanism, and
               further encourages UNITAMS and the Inter-governmental Authority for
               Development (IGAD) to also ensure coherence, coordination and complementarity of
               their support;
                    19. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council every
               90 days on the implementation of the UNITAMS mandate, and on progress made
               against the benchmarks and indicators in line with paragraph 7 of this resolution;
                    20.   Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.




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