Security Council resolution 2559 (2020) [on termination of the mandate of the AU/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) as of 31 Dec. 2020]
Symbol: S/RES/2559 (2020)
Date: 2020-12-22
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/75 [204] AU/UN HYBRID OPERATION IN DARFUR
S/75 [205] UN INTEGRATED TRANSITION ASSISTANCE MISSION IN SUDAN
S/75 [160] SUDAN--POLITICAL CONDITIONS
S/ X Reports of the Secretary-General on the Sudan and South Sudan.
Subjects: AU/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur|AU/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur > Dissolution|UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan|PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS|DARFUR (SUDAN)|SUDAN
Votes in favour: 15
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 0
Voting record:
country: BELGIUM
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
vote: yes
country: ESTONIA
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: GERMANY
vote: yes
country: INDONESIA
vote: yes
country: NIGER
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: yes
country: SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
vote: yes
country: SOUTH AFRICA
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/2559 (2020)
               Security Council                                                   Distr.: General
                                                                                  22 December 2020




               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 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,




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                   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, 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 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 law

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           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 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 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 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 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

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               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.




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